Lakeland is 0-3 against Early since April of 2016 but things could change on Tuesday. The Vikings will be playing in front of their home fans against the Panthers at 4:30 p.m. Lakeland will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.
On Monday, Lakeland was able to grind out a solid win over Kingsville, taking the game 7-2.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Early). Their pitchers stepped up to hand Chadwick a 15-0 shutout on Monday. The Panthers not only won on Monday, but they posted their biggest win since April 11, 2024 (when they won 18-0).
Luke Francka was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with three RBI and one run.
In other batting news, Cash Graves was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Michael Doyle was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Early was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .455. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Lakeland's victory bumped their record up to 16-8. As for Early, their win bumped their record up to 9-7.
Lakeland might still be hurting after the 10-1 loss they got from Early in their previous meeting back in April of 2022. Will the Vikings have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
