The Lakeview Spartans will venture away from home to take on the Portage Central Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Okemos hit Lakeview with a four-run seventh inning on Wednesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Spartans took a 9-5 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wolves. The Spartans have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Caleb McCune put in work no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed over his last three matches. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Mason Hood was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Portage Central was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their tenth straight loss. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost a 13-11 heartbreaker at the hands of Norrix. On the bright side, the 11- run performance marked the Mustangs' highest-scoring game to date.
Cam Noe made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Nolan Bloomquist, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Lakeview's record now sits at 6-10. As for Portage Central, their record is now 3-14.
Everything went Lakeview's way against Portage Central when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Lakeview made off with a 12-2 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Spartans since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
