The Lanier Longhorns will take on the Cherokee Bluff Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Having struggled with three losses in a row, Lanier turned things around against Norcross on Wednesday. They walked away with a 7-3 win over the Blue Devils.
Patrick Goodheart
| 04/16/25 @ Norcross | 7 |
| 02/10/25 @ Collins Hill | 4 |
| 04/03/25 @ Milton | 3 |
| 02/27/24 vs Morgan County | 3 |
| 02/26/24 @ Duluth | 2 |
Lanier got a great performance from Patrick Goodheart as he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Those seven strikeouts gave Goodheart a new career-high.
At the plate, Nicholas Sampona was excellent, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4. He has become a key player for Lanier: the team is 5-2 when he posts at least two runs, but 2-19 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Zach Diaz, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Cherokee Bluff's hitters rose to the challenge against a Red Devils pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.04 runs allowed on Tuesday. The Bears put the hurt on Loganville with a sharp 12-4 victory. The result was nothing new for the Bears, who have now won 12 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Gabe Gowder tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up three earned runs off eight hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Bryce Fontenot, who fired off two home runs, five RBI, and one double while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Kaden Thompson, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Cherokee Bluff's win was their ninth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-11. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Lanier, their win bumped their record up to 7-21.
Lanier might still be hurting after the 15-0 defeat they got from Cherokee Bluff in their previous meeting on Monday. Will the Longhorns 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.
