Baseball Game Preview: Panther Valley Panthers vs. Williams Valley Vikings

The Panther Valley Panthers will take on the Williams Valley Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Panther Valley hasn't scored more than two runs for five games straight, a trend the team is eager to reverse.

Jim Thorpe hit Panther Valley with a six-run third inning on Friday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Panthers came up short against the Olympians, falling 11-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Panthers have suffered against the Olympians since April 16, 2016.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Williams Valley). They put the hurt on Weatherly with a sharp 22-3 win on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Vikings in their matchups with Weatherly: they've now won eight in a row.

The team relied heavily on Peyton Adams, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. He is becoming a predictor of Williams Valley's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-7 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Evan Achenbach, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs.

Williams Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .815. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.

Panther Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 3-9. As for Williams Valley, the win got them back to even at 7-7.

Panther Valley skirted past Williams Valley 3-2 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Vikings have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.