Baseball Game Preview: Lakeland Hawks vs. Sandpoint Bulldogs

The Lakeland Hawks will square off against the Sandpoint Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

It was a Battle of the Birds when Lakeland duked it out with Lakeside two weeks ago. The Hawks skirted past the Eagles 9-8. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Hawks.

Jake Larcher was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. He also put up an RBI, which was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Nate Bevacqua, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two RBI.

Lakeland always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .739. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Sandpoint posted their closest win since April 11, 2024 on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Lake City 8-6.

Mason Little was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing 3.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four). He was even better at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Andrew Lehman, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Parker Reichart was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.

Lakeland's record is now 3-7. As for Sandpoint, their record now sits at 5-9.

Lakeland came up short against Sandpoint in their previous meeting two weeks ago, falling 6-1. Can the Hawks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.