Baseball Game Preview: Indian Lake Lakers vs. Anna Rockets

The Indian Lake Lakers will head out to square off against the Anna Rockets at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Indian Lake has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Anna will arrive with six straight wins.

Indian Lake fought the good fight in their extra-innings match against West Liberty-Salem on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Tigers by a score of 7-6.

Madden Lillard was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off eight hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

Lillard wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Brady Golliday, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Tyler Tidwell also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Meanwhile, Anna beat Milton-Union 6-1 on Thursday.

Anna's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-7. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Indian Lake, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-10.

Indian Lake couldn't quite finish off Anna in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 and fell 7-5. Can the Lakers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.