Baseball Game Preview: Michigan Center Cardinals vs. Vandercook Lake Jayhawks

Michigan Center has gone a perfect 5-0 against Vandercook Lake recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Cardinals will square off against the Jayhawks at 4:00 p.m. Michigan Center will be strutting in after a victory while Vandercook Lake will be coming in after a loss.

While Michigan Center's win against East Jackson wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Cardinals had just enough and edged out the Trojans 3-2 on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Cardinals have posted since May 20, 2024.

Landon Sharp tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out six over six innings pitched.

Levi Layher

Hits (Career)

05/07/25 @ East Jackson	3
04/24/25 vs Western	2
04/21/25 @ Lumen Christi Catholic	2
04/11/25 vs Napoleon	2
05/02/25 vs Addison	1

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Levi Layher, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and one run. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.

Meanwhile, Vandercook Lake was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their eighth straight defeat. They came up short against Hanover-Horton, falling 17-2.

Vandercook Lake saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Todd Atkins, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base and one run. That stolen base was Atkins' first of the season.

Michigan Center's win ended a seven-game drought on the road and puts them at 4-14-1. As for Vandercook Lake, their loss dropped their record down to 1-14.

Michigan Center took their victory against Vandercook Lake in their previous meeting back in April of 2022 by a conclusive 22-0 score. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Jayhawks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.