Baseball Game Preview: Cherokee Chiefs vs. Claiborne Bulldogs

Cherokee is 8-2 against Claiborne since April of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Cherokee Chiefs will look to defend their home field against the Claiborne Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.

Last Tuesday, everything went Cherokee's way against Volunteer as Cherokee made off with a 12-2 win. Considering the Chiefs have won three matches by more than nine runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

Charles Wagoner

Runs

03/11/25 vs Volunteer	3
03/10/25 @ Volunteer	2
03/08/25 vs Clinton	2
03/08/25 vs King's Academy	1

Charles Wagoner was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. He has become a key player for Cherokee: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 0-6 otherwise. Eli Boyd was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.

For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last four times Claiborne and Cumberland Gap have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Thursday. Claiborne took a 14-11 hit to the loss column at the hands of Cumberland Gap. The Bulldogs have struggled against the Panthers recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost meetings.

Garrett Keiter was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Isaac Daniels, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Cherokee has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 3-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. Claiborne's loss dropped their record down to 4-2.

Everything went Cherokee's way against Claiborne in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Cherokee made off with a 13-3 victory. Will Cherokee repeat their success, or does Claiborne have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.