The Berkeley Prep Buccaneers will take on the Lakeland Dreadnaughts at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Berkeley Prep is coming into the contest hot, having won their last six games.
Berkeley Prep proved they can win big on Tuesday (they won by seven) and on Wednesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-5 win over Tampa Prep.
Jett Walters was excellent, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double. Lucas Farrar was another key player, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Lakeland hadn't done well against McKeel Academy recently (they were 0-5 in their previous five matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Dreadnaughts came out on top against the Wildcats by a score of 4-1.
Cooper Carbonara spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up nine Ks. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Lakeland is undefeated when he allows at most two walks, but 3-4 otherwise.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Brady Cover, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more stolen bases the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Ashwin Harvey, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Lakeland was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as McKeel Academy only posted a batting average of .091.
Lakeland's victory bumped their record up to 8-4. As for Berkeley Prep, their win bumped their record up to 10-4.
Everything went Berkeley Prep's way against Lakeland when the teams last played back in February of 2025, as Berkeley Prep made off with a 15-6 victory. Will the Buccaneers repeat their success, or do the Dreadnaughts have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
