Baseball Game Preview: Western Branch Bruins vs. Lakeland Cavaliers

Western Branch is 9-1 against Lakeland since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Bruins will host the Cavaliers at 5:45 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Western Branch's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on King's Fork with a sharp 21-0 victory. Winning may never get old, but the Bruins sure are getting used to it with their fifth in a row.

Ian Taylor made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Taylor was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.

In other pitching news, Braden Stevens looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.

Ryan Waddell

Runs Batted In (Career)

05/12/26 @ King's Fork	4
03/21/26 @ Granby	3
04/14/26 @ Lakeland	2
04/03/26 @ Greenbrier Christian Academy	2
03/28/26 @ Halifax County	2

Back at the plate, Western Branch got a massive performance out of Ryan Waddell, who went 4-for-5 with four RBI and two runs. Those four RBI gave Waddell a new career-high. Markel Smith was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs, three RBI, and one double.

Western Branch was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .514. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as King's Fork only posted a batting average of .133.

Meanwhile, Lakeland got the win against Oscar Smith on Tuesday by a conclusive 7-0.

Western Branch's win bumped their record up to 16-4. As for Lakeland, their victory bumped their record up to 10-8.

Everything went Western Branch's way against Lakeland in their previous meeting back in April, as Western Branch made off with a 10-0 win. Will the Bruins repeat their success, or do the Cavaliers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.