Lakota West dropped their record down to 20-7 on Thursday, which also ended the team's four-game streak of wins at home. They fell just short of the Little Miami Panthers by a score of 7-6. The Firebirds were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Panthers apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in May of 2024.
As for Little Miami, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-7 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.1 runs on average over those games.
For Little Miami's part, Blake Longbottom looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ian Arthur, who went 3-for-4 with two runs and one double. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Cam Fox, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Lakota West and Little Miami should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Ohio Rankings. The Firebirds will square off against Middletown at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday with a big rank advantage (32 vs. 573). Meanwhile, Little Miami (ranked 79th) will meet Sycamore (ranked 289th) at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
