Baseball Game Preview: Litchfield Purple Panthers vs. New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly Vipers

The Litchfield Purple Panthers will challenge the New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly Vipers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Litchfield took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. Everything went their way against Lanphier as Litchfield made off with a 13-3 win. The Purple Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by eight runs or more this season.

Kenny Traylor was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out nine batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits (and only one walk). Traylor was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.

Landon Wernsing

Runs (Career)

03/26/25 vs Lanphier	3
03/19/25 vs Lebanon	1
05/11/24 @ Staunton	1
05/10/24 vs Hillsboro	1

In other batting news, Landon Wernsing was a standout: he scored three runs and stole four bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ryker Witt, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Litchfield always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .590. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lanphier only posted an OBP of .217.

Meanwhile, New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly got the win against Triopia/Meredosia-Chambersburg/Virginia on Monday by a conclusive 9-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Vipers.

Litchfield pushed their record up to 5-2 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly, their victory bumped their record up to 3-1.

Litchfield skirted past New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly 7-6 in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Does Litchfield have another victory up their sleeve, or will New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.