Baseball Game Preview: Hearts Academy Panthers vs. Unity Christian Lions

The Hearts Academy Panthers will venture away from home to face off against the Unity Christian Lions at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hearts Academy is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10.1 runs per game this season.

It was a proper cat-fight when Hearts Academy challenged Praise Academy on Thursday. The Panthers took a 7-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Lions. Having soared to a lofty 17 runs in the game before, the Panthers couldn't push the score so high this time.

Hearts Academy saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gavin Dyson, who went 1-for-3 with one home run. That home run marked the first that Dyson launched this season. Another was Charlie Bill, who went 2-for-3 with one triple and one stolen base.

Meanwhile, Unity Christian was not able to break out of their rough patch last Friday as the team picked up their sixth straight loss. They came up short against New Creation Christian Academy, falling 18-8.

Hayden Darnell was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3. He has become a key player for Unity Christian: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 0-6 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Jason Woodring, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.

Unity Christian's defeat dropped their record down to 3-7. As for Hearts Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 8-3.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hearts Academy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Unity Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Everything went Hearts Academy's way against Unity Christian in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Hearts Academy made off with a 20-5 victory. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Lions turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.