Baseball Game Preview: West-Oak Warriors vs. Liberty Red Devils

The West-Oak Warriors will take on the Liberty Red Devils at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. West-Oak has now lost 12 straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since March 19.

Belton-Honea Path hit West-Oak with a four-run seventh inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Warriors came up short against the Bears, falling 10-4.

Liberty never got on the board in their matchup on Wednesday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against High Point Academy on Friday. They put the hurt on the Grizzlies with a sharp 16-1 win. Considering the Red Devils have won seven matchups by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Carson Garrick made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Liberty is 3-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 7-8 otherwise. Garrick was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with three stolen bases and two runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Cade Collins was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. He has become a key player for Liberty: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 7-8 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of T.J. Borow, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

Liberty has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-9 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.3 runs over those games. As for West-Oak, their loss dropped their record down to 4-14.

Everything went West-Oak's way against Liberty in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as West-Oak made off with a 14-1 win. Will the Warriors repeat their success, or do the Red Devils have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.