Baseball Game Preview: Richland Rangers vs. Lake Hornets

The Richland Rangers will challenge the Lake Hornets at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

While Richland's victory against Pelahatchie wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. Richland won by a run and slipped past Pelahatchie 9-8. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Rangers have posted since February 20, 2024.

Christopher Bobbitt

Batters Struck Out

03/08/25 vs Pelahatchie	3
03/01/25 vs Pisgah	1
02/21/25 @ Pisgah	0
02/24/24 vs St. Andrew's Episcopal	1
02/19/24 @ Central Hinds Academy	3

Christopher Bobbitt made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in February of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season.

In other batting news, Caleb Hudson and Bryce Shows did most of the damage at the plate: Hudson went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI, while Shows scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. What's more, Shows posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. Cormarion Brent was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.

Richland was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in four consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, Lake came tearing into Saturday's game with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.6 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Bearcats as they made off with a 17-3 victory. The Hornets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight contests by 13 runs or more this season.

Lake pushed their record up to 11-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Richland, the victory was their first at home , bumping their record up to 2-4.