Baseball Game Preview: Lexington Minutemen vs. Mansfield Senior Tygers

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Previous Games

05/08/25 - Away	2-1 W
05/07/25 - Away	9-2 W
04/24/24 - Away	12-0 W
04/23/24 - Home	11-5 W
04/19/23 - Home	11-3 W
+ 2 more games

Lexington is a perfect 7-0 against Mansfield Senior since April of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Minutemen will be taking part in a tournament against the Tygers at 5:00 p.m. Lexington is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak.

Monday just wasn't the day for Lexington's offense. They fell 5-0 to Big Walnut on Monday.

The home team had won the previous four meetings between Mansfield Senior and Mansfield Christian, and Mansfield Senior kept the tradition alive. The Tygers blew past the Flames 12-1 on Saturday. The Tygers haven't had any issues with the Flames recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.

Joshua Malone made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 11 over 4.2 innings pitched. He is becoming a predictor of Mansfield Senior's success: when he posts at least eight strikeouts the team is 3-1 (and 8-15 when he doesn't). Malone was also stellar in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one double.

In other batting news, Guy Trader and Will Fortner did most of the damage at the plate: Trader went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI, while Fortner went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI. Fortner has become a key player for Mansfield Senior: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 8-16 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Peyton Page, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.

Mansfield Senior always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. They are 4-1 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Lexington's loss dropped their record down to 11-13. As for Mansfield Senior, their victory bumped their record up to 11-16.

Lexington skirted past Mansfield Senior 2-1 in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Will the Minutemen repeat their success, or do the Tygers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.