The Liberty Panthers are taking a road trip to challenge the Lumberton Raiders at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Liberty 3.6, Lumberton 3.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Thursday, Liberty needed a bit of extra time to put away Tarkington. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Longhorns, sneaking past 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Panthers have posted since March 6th.
Zander Davila
| 04/17/25 vs Tarkington | 10 |
| 04/11/25 vs Hardin-Jefferson | 5 |
| 04/04/25 @ Hargrave | 5 |
| 03/21/25 vs Shepherd | 5 |
| 03/14/25 vs Livingston | 6 |
| + 2 more games |
Zander Davila spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered four earned (and one unearned) runs on five hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in seven consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Liberty saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Frankie Marez, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base and one run. Another was Leyton Kirkland, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Lumberton entered their tilt with West Fork on Tuesday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. They put the hurt on the Gators with a sharp 14-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Raiders, who have now won nine matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Carter Wilson was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Wilson was even better at the plate, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, one run, and one double. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Gavin Harmse was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with five RBI, one triple, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Cody, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Lumberton was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .538. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Liberty has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 16-10-1 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for Lumberton, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 21-7-1.
Liberty took their victory against Lumberton in their previous matchup back in February of 2024 by a conclusive 9-3 score. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Raiders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
