Baseball Game Preview: Lufkin Panthers vs. Centerville Tigers

The Lufkin Panthers will face off against the Centerville Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Lufkin 3.4, Centerville 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.

It was a proper cat-fight when Lufkin took on Hallsville on Tuesday. The Panthers fell just short of the Bobcats by a score of 3-2.

Centerville never got on the board in their matchup last Tuesday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Lovelady on Friday. They were the clear victors by an 11-2 margin over the Lions. The Tigers haven't had any issues with the Lions recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.

Gunner Bazar and Wyatt Rayburn made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, Bazar tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Meanwhile, Rayburn struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high. At bat, Bazar got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI, while Rayburn went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI.

In other batting news, Jake Gray and Wyatt Burleson did most of the damage at the plate: Gray went 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double, while Burleson got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That's the most hits Gray has posted since back in May of 2025. The team also got some help courtesy of Wyatt Kelly, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.

Centerville kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lovelady only managed four.

Lufkin's loss ended an 11-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 16-5-1. As for Centerville, their win bumped their record up to 11-6-1.