Baseball Game Preview: Maxwell Panthers vs. Etna Lions

Maxwell hasn't had much luck against Etna recently, but that could start to change on Friday. A feisty cat fight will be fought as Maxwell Panthers take on Etna Lions at 2:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Etna will be up against a hot Maxwell squad: the team just extended their winning streak to six. Maxwell put the hurt on Upper Lake with a sharp 10-3 win on Tuesday. Considering the Panthers have won four matchups by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Massey Baker

Runs Batted In (Career)

03/25/25 @ Upper Lake	5
03/09/24 vs Pierce	4
04/11/24 @ Princeton	3
03/26/24 @ Los Molinos	2
03/12/24 vs Esparto	2

Maxwell's victory was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Massey Baker, who went 3-for-4 with five RBI, two runs, and one triple. Those five RBI gave Baker a new career-high. Landon Barrett was another, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.

Meanwhile, Etna got the win against Central Valley on Tuesday by a conclusive 9-3. With that win, the Lions brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.

Etna let Clayton Harris and Emmett Stacher run wild. Harris went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while Stacher scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Harris has become a key player for Etna: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 1-3 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Mason Padgett, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-1.

Etna was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .406. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Etna now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Maxwell, their victory bumped their record up to 6-0.

Maxwell couldn't quite finish off Etna in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 4-2. Will Maxwell have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.