vs
| 05/09/24 - Home | 6-4 W |
| 05/09/24 - Home | 6-4 W |
| 05/04/23 - Away | 9-4 W |
| 05/04/23 - Away | 11-3 W |
| 05/05/22 - Home | 6-2 W |
| + 5 more games |
Lakeshore is a perfect 10-0 against Kalamazoo Central since May of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Lancers will challenge the Maroon Giants at 4:00 p.m. Lakeshore will be looking to extend their current six-game winning streak.
Lakeshore is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: South Bend Saint Joseph, who was ranked eighth in their home state at the time (Lakeshore was ranked fourth). The Lancers sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over the Huskies on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Kalamazoo Central was able to grind out a solid victory over Plainwell on Monday, taking the game 10-5. With that win, the Maroon Giants brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Mason Hoenle was a major factor no matter where he played. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. What's more, he posted two strikeouts, the most he's had over his last four matchups. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Dewey Young was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and one RBI. Kalamazoo Central is 3-1 when Young posts two or more runs, but 9-11 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Joey Spada, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Kalamazoo Central hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their strikeout total in four consecutive contests.
Lakeshore pushed their record up to 13-3 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Kalamazoo Central, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a massive bump to their 12-12 record this season.
Lakeshore skirted past Kalamazoo Central 6-4 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lancers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
