The Dardanelle Sand Lizards will face off against the Pottsville Apaches at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, Dardanelle was able to grind out a solid win over Lamar, taking the game 5-1. The victory continues a trend for the Sand Lizards in their matchups with the Warriors: they've now won five in a row.
Chase Weatherford
| 03/14/25 vs Huntsville | 9 |
| 03/29/25 @ Rose Bud | 2 |
| 04/08/25 vs Clarksville | 1 |
| 03/06/25 @ Charleston | 1 |
Chase Weatherford spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on two hits and racked up seven Ks. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Dardanelle is 4-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 5-7 otherwise.
At the plate, Cam Evans was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Scout Bull was another key player, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pottsville). They were the clear victors by a 17-7 margin over Waldron on Tuesday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Apaches needed considering they were shut out in their previous contest.
Brody Blasingame looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Eli Morris, who scored three runs and stole four bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Those four stolen bases gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Maddex Mergele, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Pottsville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Pottsville is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.4 runs over those games. As for Dardanelle, the victory got them back to even at 9-9.
