Baseball Game Preview: Lumberton Raiders vs. Hardin-Jefferson Hawks

The Lumberton Raiders will square off against the Hardin-Jefferson Hawks at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday. Lumberton will be strutting in after a win while Hardin-Jefferson will be coming in after a loss.

Lumberton took care of business in their home opener on Monday. They came out on top against Hamshire-Fannett by a score of 10-7.

Jackson Pullen made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Pullen was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Pullen wasn't the only one making solid contact as eight players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Colton Harwell, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. Aiden Marshall was another, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.

Meanwhile, Hardin-Jefferson didn't have quite enough to beat Orangefield on Monday and fell 5-4. The defeat continues a trend for the Hawks in their matchups with the Bobcats: they've now lost three in a row.

Lumberton was able to grind out a solid victory over Hardin-Jefferson in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, winning 5-1. Will Lumberton repeat their success, or does Hardin-Jefferson have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.