Litchfield hasn't had much luck against Southwestern recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Litchfield Purple Panthers are taking a road trip to face off against the Southwestern Piasa Birds at 4:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Litchfield took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They were the clear victor by a 23-1 margin over Lebanon. The Purple Panthers have beaten the Greyhounds the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Greyhounds has come to flipping the script.
Titan Hires
| 03/19/25 vs Lebanon | 4 |
| 05/10/24 vs Hillsboro | 1 |
| 05/02/24 vs Vandalia | 1 |
| 05/01/24 vs Bunker Hill | 1 |
| 04/25/24 @ Greenville | 1 |
The team relied heavily on Titan Hires, who went 3-for-4 with four runs, two doubles, and one triple. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ryker Witt, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.
Meanwhile, Southwestern gave up the first runs last Tuesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They put the hurt on Maryville Christian with a sharp 23-2 win.
Ryan Lowis made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in April of 2024. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Southwestern got a massive performance out of Ike Austin, who scored four runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Austin Bates was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-2.
Southwestern always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .658. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Maryville Christian only posted an OBP of .188.
Litchfield couldn't quite finish off Southwestern in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 2-0. Can Litchfield avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
