Baseball Game Preview: Lockwood Tigers vs. Sarcoxie Bears

The Lockwood Tigers will head out to square off against the Sarcoxie Bears at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Lockwood will be strutting in after a victory while Sarcoxie will be coming in after a loss.

It was a proper cat-fight when Lockwood faced off against Greenfield on Monday. The Tigers never let the Wildcats get on the board and left with a 10-0 win. That looming 10-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Tigers yet this season.

Roper Gray made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. Those 11 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-5.

Nik Thieman

Runs

04/14/25 vs Greenfield	3
04/14/25 vs Liberal	2
03/27/25 @ Dadeville	2

In other batting news, Lockwood let Nik Thieman and Landry Ogden run wild. Thieman scored three runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3, while Ogden scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Thieman has become a key player for Lockwood: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-6 otherwise. Reed Rath also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.

Lockwood always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .579. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Sarcoxie started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Jasper. They fell 8-3 to the Eagles on Saturday. The Bears' defeat signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

The victory made it two in a row for Lockwood and bumps their season record up to 3-7. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Sarcoxie, their loss dropped their record down to 4-6.

Lockwood couldn't quite get it done against Sarcoxie in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 as they fell 9-6. Can the Tigers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.