Baseball Game Preview: Ocean Lakes Dolphins vs. Kempsville Chiefs

The Ocean Lakes Dolphins will head out on the road to take on the Kempsville Chiefs at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Ocean Lakes' pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Kempsville's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Ocean Lakes' usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Tuesday's struggle, when Cox hitters got past them. The Dolphins fell 10-5 to the Falcons on Tuesday. The Dolphins haven't had much luck with the Falcons recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.

Connor Mais made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. That hit was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Brady Nagle, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.

Meanwhile, Tuesday just wasn't the day for Kempsville's offense. They lost 7-0 to Landstown on Tuesday. The match marked the first time this season in which the Chiefs were not able to get on the board.

Kempsville also got a good showing from Arijus Knasas, who didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched.

The defeat was their first on the road , dropping their record down to 3-3. As for Ocean Lakes, their loss dropped their record down to 3-2.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ocean Lakes has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Kempsville struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Ocean Lakes took their win against Kempsville in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 11-1 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dolphins since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.