Baseball Game Preview: Chapel Hill Panthers vs. New Manchester Jaguar

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Previous Games

02/13/23 - Away	11-2 W
04/15/22 - Home	13-3 W
04/13/22 - Away	16-1 W
03/26/21 - Home	6-0 W
03/24/21 - Away	13-7 W
+ 5 more games

Chapel Hill is a perfect 10-0 against New Manchester since March of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Chapel Hill Panthers will be playing at home against the New Manchester Jaguar at 5:55 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Friday.

Fans were treated to a Battle of the Panthers on Wednesday. Chapel Hill was the clear victors by a 9-1 margin over Langston Hughes. The win made it back-to-back victories for Chapel Hill.

Jaden Whitehead and Kasaan Willis were a major factor no matter where they played. Throwing, Whitehead pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Meanwhile, Willis struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. At the plate, Whitehead scored a run while going 1-for-2, while Willis went 1-for-2 with one triple and one run.

In other batting news, Phillip Ackerman was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in stolen bases. Another player making a difference was Brennan Austin, who went 1-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.

Meanwhile, New Manchester got the win against Banneker on Tuesday by a conclusive 16-3. That's two games straight that the Jaguar have won by exactly 13 runs.

Chapel Hill's victory bumped their record up to 2-3. As for New Manchester, their win ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-1.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Chapel Hill has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like New Manchester struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Chapel Hill took their victory against New Manchester in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 by a conclusive 11-2. Does Chapel Hill have another victory up their sleeve, or will New Manchester turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.