The St. Mary Central Catholic Panthers will take on the Lakota Raiders at 5:00 p.m. on Monday.
St. Mary Central Catholic fell victim to Hopewell-Loudon and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. They lost 7-0 to the Chieftains. The loss continues a trend for the Panthers in their meetings with the Chieftains: they've now lost five in a row.
Cayden Wikel
| 05/09/25 @ Hopewell-Loudon | 1 |
| 05/07/25 @ Gibsonburg | 2 |
| 05/05/25 vs Danbury | 2 |
St. Mary Central Catholic saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cayden Wikel, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base. Wikel is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last contest, Lakota made sure to put some runs up on the board against Old Fort on Wednesday. The Raiders blew past the Stockaders 10-3. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Raiders' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Hunter Sweeney made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits (and only one walk). Sweeney was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Lakota is undefeated when Sweeney posts two or more runs, but 6-8 otherwise.
Lakota's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-8. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for St. Mary Central Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-9.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. St. Mary Central Catholic has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.6 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lakota struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went St. Mary Central Catholic's way against Lakota in their previous matchup back in April, as St. Mary Central Catholic made off with a 17-4 win. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Raiders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
