Baseball Game Preview: Lake Mary Rams vs. Pine Ridge Panthers

The Lake Mary Rams will face off against the Pine Ridge Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The last three games Lake Mary has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

On Tuesday, Lake Mary narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Oviedo 9-7. That's two games straight that the Rams have won by exactly two runs.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pine Ridge). They were the clear victors by a 12-2 margin over South Lake two weeks ago. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matches by six runs or more this season.

Pine Ridge got a great performance from Loren Cheatham as he pitched five innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. Cheatham has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Christopher Kable and Kenny Capria did most of the damage at the plate: Kable went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and one double, while Capria scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Those four RBI gave Kable a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Wilder, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.

Pine Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .548. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Pine Ridge is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-3-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. Lake Mary's win ended a five-game drought at home and bumped them up to 8-10.

Everything went Lake Mary's way against Pine Ridge in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, as Lake Mary made off with an 11-1 victory. Does Lake Mary have another victory up their sleeve, or will Pine Ridge turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.