Baseball Game Preview: Dr. Krop Lightning vs. Northwestern Bulls

The Dr. Krop Lightning will face off against the Northwestern Bulls at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Dr. Krop is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 15-1 margin over American on Thursday. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Lightning as it put an end to their five-game losing streak.

Marco Loreto made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk). Loreto was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.

Randy Mercedes

Stolen Base (Career)

03/20/25 @ American	4
02/28/25 vs Reagan	3
02/25/25 @ Hialeah Gardens	1
02/19/25 vs Cooper City	1
02/10/25 @ McArthur	1

In other batting news, Myles Green and Randy Mercedes did most of the damage at the plate: Green scored two runs and stole Four bases. while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances, while Mercedes scored two runs and stole Four bases. while going 2-for-5. The dominant performance gave Mercedes a new career-high in stolen bases. Esaul Pena was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.

Dr. Krop always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .522. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as American only posted an OBP of .192.

Meanwhile, Northwestern had already won five in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.8 runs) and they went ahead and made it six on Thursday. They walked away with a 9-4 win over the Hurricanes.

The team relied heavily on Darrius Pender, who scored two runs while going 2-for-2. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season. Another player making a difference was J. Williams, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.

Northwestern's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.0 runs over those games. As for Dr. Krop, their win bumped their record up to 4-9.

Dr. Krop couldn't quite get it done against Northwestern in their previous meeting back in February of 2021 as they fell 9-6. Will Dr. Krop have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.