Baseball Game Preview: Federal Hocking Lancers vs. Eastern Eagles

Federal Hocking hasn't had much luck against Eastern recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Lancers will look to defend their home field against the Eagles at 5:00 p.m.

Federal Hocking is headed into Tuesday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their 31st straight game dating back to last season on Friday. They might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 9-3 to River Valley, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Eastern). They blew past Paint Valley 19-1 on Friday. The Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by seven runs or more this season.

Eastern got a great performance from Trey Mugrage as he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned run off six hits.

On the hitting side, Hunter Needs was incredible, going 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI. That triple was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Lance Hensler, who went 1-for-2 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple.

Eastern kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 18 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in April of 2024.

The win (which was Eastern's third in a row) raised their record to 8-2. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Federal Hocking, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-9.

Federal Hocking might still be hurting after the 16-0 loss they got from Eastern in their previous matchup last Wednesday. Will the Lancers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.