Baseball Game Preview: Sumter County Panthers vs. Hardaway Hawks

Sumter County hasn't had much luck against Hardaway recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Sumter County Panthers will look to defend their home field against the Hardaway Hawks at 5:30 p.m. Sumter County has given up an average of 17.3 runs per game this season, so hopefully the team got some pitching drills in this week.

Hardaway will be up against a hot Sumter County squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. Sumter County was the clear victors by a 30-16 margin over Kendrick on Wednesday.

Ter'Kaevian Rush was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing Two bases. while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Nolan Minter, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.

Sumter County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .818. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Hardaway entered their match against Shaw on Tuesday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Hardaway fell 11-6 to Shaw.

Hardaway saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kevin Williams, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Sumter County pushed their record up to 4-8 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 27.8 runs over those games. As for Hardaway, their loss dropped their record down to 8-4.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Sumter County has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 9.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Hardaway struggles in that department as they've been averaging 13.2 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.