Softball Game Preview: Lufkin Panthers vs. Nacogdoches Dragons

vs

Previous Games

03/15/25 - Away	20-0 W
04/19/24 - Home	11-0 W
04/02/24 - Away	13-1 W
04/21/23 - Away	7-4 W
04/04/23 - Home	3-2 W
+ 5 more games

Lufkin is 9-1 against Nacogdoches since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Panthers will welcome the Dragons at 6:00 p.m. Lufkin is coming into the contest hot, having won their last 14 games.

While Lufkin's victory against Whitehouse wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Panthers had just enough and edged out the Wildcats 6-5 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Nacogdoches won against Marshall on Friday with nine runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. The Dragons came out on top against Jacksonville by a score of 9-4. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Dragons.

LT Garrett made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over seven innings while giving up four earned runs off five hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. That's the most runs she has posted since back in February.

In other batting news, Kylie Fields and Arlette Castillo did most of the damage at the plate: Fields scored a run while going 1-for-3, while Castillo scored a run while going 3-for-4. Those three hits gave Castillo a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Clayton Cross, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.

Lufkin pushed their record up to 20-3 with the win, which was their seventh straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Nacogdoches, their win bumped their record up to 5-18.

Lufkin took their victory against Nacogdoches in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 20-0 score. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Dragons have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.