The Lake City Trojans will face off against the Benzie Central Huskies at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Saturday, it was close, but Lake City sidestepped Marion for a 2-1 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Trojans.
Meanwhile, Benzie Central had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 10 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. Everything went their way against the Panthers as they made off with a 13-2 victory. The home team had taken home the W every time these teams have met since April 30, 2018, but that streak is no more.
Lane Sanchez and Lorin McNeil made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Sanchez struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Meanwhile, McNeil pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances. At bat, Sanchez went 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs, while McNeil went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Sanchez has become a key player for Benzie Central: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 2-3-1 otherwise.
In other batting news, Benzie Central let Jayden Ewing and Logan Osborne run wild. Ewing went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run, while Osborne got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs. Ewing has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
Benzie Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .545 or higher in three consecutive games.
Benzie Central's win was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-3-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Lake City, their win bumped their record up to 4-7.
Lake City couldn't quite get it done against Benzie Central when the teams last played back in May of 2024 as they fell 7-2. Will the Trojans 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.
