Baseball Game Preview: Lovejoy Wildcats vs. Stephenson Jaguars

Lovejoy hasn't had much luck against Stephenson recently, but that could start to change on Friday. A feisty cat fight will be fought as the Wildcats face off against the Jaguars at 6:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.

Lovejoy is headed into the contest having just posted their biggest win since February 24, 2024 on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Hampton with a sharp 13-3 victory. With that win, the Wildcats brought their scoring average up to 6.6 runs per game.

Prince Ford

Batters Struck Out (Career)

02/26/25 @ Hampton	10
03/11/24 @ Mundy's Mill	5
02/10/25 @ Sandy Creek	4
02/26/24 @ Fayette County	4
03/18/24 vs Jonesboro	3

Prince Ford was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off eight hits. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.

In other batting news, Lovejoy got a massive performance out of Evan Shaw, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. That's the most runs Shaw has posted since back in March of 2024. Tykwon Carpenter was another key player, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-5.

Lovejoy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .382. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hampton only posted a batting average of .250.

Meanwhile, the third road matchup was the charm for Stephenson, as they earned their first road win of the season. They blew past Columbia 14-5 on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Jaguars in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won four in a row.

Lovejoy's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-3-1. As for Stephenson, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.

Lovejoy suffered a grim 19-9 defeat to Stephenson in their previous matchup back in April of 2019. Can Lovejoy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.