Baseball Game Preview: Manchester Lancers vs. Monacan Chiefs

Manchester and Monacan are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Lancers will venture away from home to challenge the Chiefs at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Manchester is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.

Manchester blew Clover Hill out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Thursday Clover Hill got their revenge. The Lancers fell just short of the Cavaliers by a score of 8-6. The Lancers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Kelton Taylor was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out eight batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off six hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.

Tyson Penepacker

Runs

04/22/25 @ Varina	3
04/09/25 @ Clover Hill	3
05/08/25 vs Clover Hill	2
05/01/25 vs L.C. Bird	2
04/10/25 vs Monacan	2
+ 4 more games

At the plate, Tyson Penepacker made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and two RBI. He has become a key player for Manchester: the team is 6-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 2-7 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Easton Butts, who went 1-for-3 with one triple.

Meanwhile, Monacan waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came out on top against the Blue Devils by a score of 6-1.

Monacan pushed their record up to 8-6-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Manchester, their loss dropped their record down to 8-8.

Manchester beat Monacan 9-4 in their previous meeting back in April. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lancers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.