Baseball Game Preview: Hobbton Wildcats vs. Lakewood Leopards

Wildcats

Runs

03/24/25 vs Pender	12
03/18/25 @ Rosewood	2
03/13/25 @ Princeton	4
03/12/25 @ Spring Creek	12
03/07/25 vs Heide Trask	7
+ 4 more games

Hobbton has gone 9-1 against Lakewood recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. Hobbton is taking a road trip to square off against Lakewood at 6:00 p.m. Hobbton is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10 runs per game this season.

Hobbton will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Tuesday, then bounced right back against Pender on Monday. Hobbton put the hurt on Pender with a sharp 12-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Wildcats in their matchups with the Patriots: they've now won six in a row.

Hobbton got a big performance out of Ben Neal, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Zack Aman, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.

Hobbton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .567. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pender only posted an OBP of .222.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 17 runs the game before, Lakewood was a bit more limited in their matchup on Friday. They fell just short of North Duplin by a score of 2-1. The defeat continues a trend for the Leopards in their meetings with the Rebels: they've now lost nine in a row.

Hobbton's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-2. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Lakewood, their loss dropped their record down to 4-6.

Lakewood's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Hobbton hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .313. It's a different story for Lakewood, though, as they've only averaged .169. Will they be able to contain Hobbton's hitters?

Hobbton was able to grind out a solid victory over Lakewood in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, winning 7-3. Does Hobbton have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lakewood turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.