The Leonard Lancers will head out on the road to take on the Olympic Heights Lions at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Leonard is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.3 runs per game this season.
While Leonard's victory against Lake Worth Christian wasn't quite the blowout they won the last time the pair played, they still came away the winners. Leonard came out on top in a nail-biter against Lake Worth Christian on Tuesday and snuck past 10-8. The win made it back-to-back victories for Leonard.
Shawn Lopez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off five hits. Lopez was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
In other batting news, Leonard got a massive performance out of Jariel Rodriguez, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Frandy Mendez-Arnaud, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought contest, but Olympic Heights had to settle for a 5-4 defeat against Royal Palm Beach on Tuesday.
Finley Lamb was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits.
On the hitting side, Olympic Heights saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jace Schlacter, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI. Dylan Salazar was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
Leonard is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 10-7 record this season. As for Olympic Heights, their loss dropped their record down to 6-14.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Leonard has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Olympic Heights struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Leonard's way against Olympic Heights when the teams last played back in March as Leonard made off with an 11-4 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Leonard since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
