Baseball Game Preview: Waterville Panthers vs. Belfast Lions

The Waterville Panthers will venture away from home to challenge the Belfast Lions at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Waterville has struggled recently with nine losses in a row, while Belfast will arrive with four straight wins.

Waterville fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Nokomis on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 5-4.

Belfast came out on top against Winslow on Thursday thanks in part to the team's impressive seven-run fourth inning. The Lions put the hurt on the Black Raiders with a sharp 13-2 victory. The Lions might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matchups by six runs or more this season.

Iven Ingraham was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in ten consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, Aidan Howard and Tucker Marden did most of the damage at the plate: Howard went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, while Marden went 2-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those four hits gave Howard a new career-high. Luke Littlefield also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Belfast was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .467. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Waterville's defeat dropped their record down to 4-12. As for Belfast, their record is now 12-5.

Waterville suffered a grim 12-6 defeat to Belfast in their previous meeting last Wednesday. Can the Panthers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.