Baseball Game Preview: Stigler Panthers vs. Hilldale Hornets

vs

Previous Games

04/02/24 - Home	5-4 W
04/02/24 - Home	5-6 L
04/01/24 - Away	5-4 W
03/06/21 - Away	5-6 L
03/06/21 - Away	5-6 L
+ 5 more games

Stigler and Hilldale are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2015, but likely not for long. The Panthers will head out to face off against the Hornets at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Stigler is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.

Stigler is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Oklahoma's top teams: Preston, who was ranked 17th at the time (Stigler was ranked 12th). The Panthers came out on top in a nail-biter against the Pirates on Tuesday, sneaking past 9-8. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Panthers have posted since April 16, 2024.

Cade Eakle was excellent, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Latch Smith also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, Hilldale waltzed into their game on Tuesday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They put the hurt on the Warriors with a sharp 14-2 win. Considering the Hornets have won ten contests by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Stigler's victory was their 18th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 14-0. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Hilldale, their victory bumped their record up to 14-2.

Stigler came out on top in a nail-biter against Hilldale when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.