Baseball Game Preview: Shady Side Academy Bulldogs vs. Deer Lakes Lancers

The Shady Side Academy Bulldogs will head out to take on the Deer Lakes Lancers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Deer Lakes took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Shady Side Academy, who comes in off a win.

Shady Side Academy is headed into the contest having just posted their closest victory since April 22, 2024 on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Steel Valley, sneaking past 6-5. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bulldogs.

Brian Firman and Soren Cooper did most of the damage at the plate: Firman went 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Cooper went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most RBI Cooper has posted since back in March of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of David Dillon, who went 2-for-3 with two runs.

Freeport hit Deer Lakes with a four-run second inning last Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Lancers lost 14-3 to the Yellowjackets. Surprisingly, this marked the Lancers' fifth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.

Ben Shurina made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Eli Misera also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Deer Lakes now has a losing record of 5-6. As for Shady Side Academy, their win bumped their record up to 4-11.

Shady Side Academy came out on top in a nail-biter against Deer Lakes in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bulldogs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.