The Gardner-South Wilmington Panthers will face off against the Lexington Minutemen at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
Gardner-South Wilmington fell victim to Dwight and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. They came up short against the Trojans, falling 7-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Panthers have suffered against the Trojans since April 18, 2016.
Reed Millette
| 05/02/25 vs Dwight | 1 |
| 05/01/25 vs Grant Park | 1 |
| 04/30/25 vs Hinckley-Big Rock | 1 |
Gardner-South Wilmington saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Reed Millette, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base. Millette is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played.
Meanwhile, Lexington won against Deer Creek-Mackinaw on Wednesday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Friday. The Minutemen walked away with a 10-5 win over El Paso-Gridley. The victory continues a trend for the Minutemen in their matchups with the Titans: they've now won four in a row.
Braeden Barber made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched 6.1 innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Barber was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with three RBI.
In other batting news, Kayden Knight and Drake Powell did most of the damage at the plate: Knight got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs, while Powell went 2-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Lexington is undefeated when Knight posts two or more stolen bases, but 6-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Blaine Friedmansky, who went 2-for-5 with three runs and one stolen base.
Lexington kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are 7-2 when they post 11 or more hits.
Lexington pushed their record up to 11-8 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Gardner-South Wilmington, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-11.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Gardner-South Wilmington has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lexington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
