Baseball Game Preview: Martin Luther King Cougars vs. Tacony Academy Charter Lions

The Martin Luther King Cougars will look to take advantage of their home field for the first time this season as they take on the Tacony Academy Charter Lions at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. Martin Luther King will be strutting in after a victory while Tacony Academy Charter will be coming in after a defeat.

Martin Luther King is coming home in high spirits after they had to open their season on the road against Franklin Learning Center. Martin Luther King came out on top against Franklin Learning Center by a score of 15-10 on Tuesday. The win was familiar territory for the Cougars, who have now won four matches in a row dating back to last season.

Jordan Thompson and Kingsley Snyder made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Thompson struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Meanwhile, Snyder tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single walk, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in March of 2024. At the plate, Thompson scored a run and stole Four bases. while going 3-for-6, while Snyder got on base in five of his six plate appearances with four RBI, one stolen base, and one double. The dominant performance also gave Snyder a new career-high in hits (three).

Messiah Stokes

Runs Batted In (Career)

03/18/25 @ Franklin Learning Center	3
03/15/24 @ John Bartram	2
04/16/24 vs South Philadelphia	1
04/08/24 vs Saul	1

In other batting news, Messiah Stokes was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing Two bases. while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (three). Ishmail Crawford-Mathis was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Tacony Academy Charter suffered their closest loss since April 25, 2024 on Tuesday. They fell just short of West Philadelphia by a score of 5-3.

Martin Luther King suffered a grim 13-0 defeat to Tacony Academy Charter in their previous meeting back in March of 2022. Will Martin Luther King have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.