Mulberry hasn't had much luck against Lakeland Christian recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Mulberry Panthers will venture away from home to take on the Lakeland Christian Vikings at 7:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Mulberry 3.3, Lakeland Christian 2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Mulberry's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They came out on top against Bartow by a score of 4-0. The Panthers have beaten the Yellow Jackets the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Yellow Jackets has come to flipping the script.
Griffin Cline
| 03/11/25 vs Bartow | 1 |
| 03/01/25 @ Sebring | 1 |
| 02/27/25 @ George Jenkins | 0 |
The result came thanks to Griffin Cline's shutout, as he gave up just a hit and racked up eight Ks. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Nic Partridge was excellent, scoring two runs while going 1-for-4. Hayden Wyatt was another key player, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Partridge wasn't the only one working in the hit department: Mulberry kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bartow only managed one hit.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lakeland Christian). They put the hurt on Discovery with a sharp 17-1 victory on Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Vikings with their most commanding win of the season.
The team relied heavily on Brody Brenneman, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in RBI. Maclain Irby also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Lakeland Christian has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.9 runs on average over those games. Mulberry's record is now 10-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mulberry has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lakeland Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Mulberry came up short against Lakeland Christian when the teams last played back in March of 2024, falling 4-1. Can Mulberry avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
