The Leonard Lancers will head out on the road to square off against the Lake Worth Christian Defenders at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Leonard took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They put the hurt on Varsity Opponent with a sharp 11-1 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Leonard considering their one-run performance the game before.
Steven Montes de Oca Napoles made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 16 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Montes de Oca Napoles was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Zaiden Cardona, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Victor Garcia-Gosling was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last match, Lake Worth Christian made sure to put some runs up on the board against Atlantic Christian on Thursday. Lake Worth Christian won by a run and slipped past Atlantic Christian 12-11.
Like Leonard, Lake Worth Christian also got a great game from a two-way player: Mia Kruspe. He struck out six batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). Kruspe has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances. Kruspe was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Lake Worth Christian got a massive performance out of Jayden Deveaux, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Deveaux has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Cooper Luna, who scored a run and stole a base while going 4-for-5.
Leonard's record is now 9-7. As for Lake Worth Christian, their record now sits at 6-8.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Leonard has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lake Worth Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.1. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Leonard's way against Lake Worth Christian in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 as Leonard made off with a 12-2 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Leonard since the team 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
