Baseball Game Preview: Lakeland Dreadnaughts vs. Gibbs Gladiators

The Lakeland Dreadnaughts will take on the Gibbs Gladiators at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Lakeland will be strutting in after a victory while Gibbs will be coming in after a loss.

Having struggled with six defeats in a row, Lakeland turned things around against IMG Academy Gray on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past the Ascenders 7-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Dreadnaughts have posted since March 6th.

ELI MILLER made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits. MILLER was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February.

CAMERON FUSE

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/03/25 vs IMG Academy Gray	4
03/14/25 vs Hernando	2
03/11/25 vs Davenport	2
03/10/25 vs Haines City	2
03/17/25 vs Fort Meade	1

In other batting news, CAMERON FUSE was incredible, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, one triple, and one stolen base. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of EDRICK AYALA, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Gibbs lost 18-2 to Bayshore on Thursday. The Gladiators have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Gibbs' loss dropped their record down to 1-9. As for Lakeland, their win bumped their record up to 10-11.

Lakeland took their victory against Gibbs when the teams last played back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 16-0 score. Will the Dreadnaughts repeat their success, or do the Gladiators have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.