Softball Game Preview: Batesburg-Leesville Panthers vs. Newberry Bulldogs

The Batesburg-Leesville Panthers will head out to take on the Newberry Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Batesburg-Leesville will be strutting in after a win while Newberry will be coming in after a loss.

Having struggled with eight defeats in a row, Batesburg-Leesville turned things around against American Leadership Academy on Wednesday. They won by a run and slipped past the Patriots 11-10. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Panthers have posted since March 5, 2024.

Batesburg-Leesville got a massive performance out of Claire McCleskey, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. That's the most runs McCleskey has posted since back in March. Cara Barnes was another key player, going 3-for-5 with four RBI and one double.

Meanwhile, Newberry didn't have quite enough to beat Swansea on Tuesday and fell 6-5.

Kaydee Rivers was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Courtney Scurry, who scored a run while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.

Newberry's loss dropped their record down to 2-7. As for Batesburg-Leesville, their win was their first in the region, bumping their region record up to 1-6 and their overall record up to 3-9-1.

Everything went Batesburg-Leesville's way against Newberry in their previous meeting back in April of 2021, as Batesburg-Leesville made off with a 17-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.