Center Line had lost three straight on the road, but on Wednesday they dropped their record down to 2-6 to make it four. They took a 10-5 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Hazel Park Vikings. If the Panthers were looking for revenge after losing 6-5 to the Vikings when the teams met back in June of 2024, then they'll just have to keep looking.
Cruz Santiago was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs.
As for Hazel Park, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 8-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games.
On Hazel Park's side, Zay Justice and Austin Small did most of the damage at the plate: Justice went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Small went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Small is becoming a predictor of the Vikings' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 4-5 when he doesn't). Landon Schlak was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Looking ahead, Center Line will be playing in front of their home fans against Clintondale at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Dragons have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 13.25 runs per game on average), something the Panthers will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Hazel Park, they will head out to take on Fitzgerald at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Vikings' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Spartans have averaged an impressive 7.4 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
