Baseball Game Preview: Hackberry Mustangs vs. Starks Panthers

For the second straight game, Hackberry will face off against Starks. The Mustangs will be playing at home against the Panthers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Hackberry is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.4 runs per game this season.

Hackberry will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Monday, then bounced right back against Starks on Tuesday. The Mustangs put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 14-2 win. The victory continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won seven in a row.

Madden Spicer made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out 13 batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits (and only one walk). He is becoming a predictor of Hackberry's success: when he posts at least eight strikeouts the team is undefeated (and 5-8 when he doesn't). Spicer was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with one double and one RBI.

Kaston Moore

Runs Batted In (Career)

04/08/25 @ Starks	5
03/19/24 vs South Cameron	4
03/27/25 vs Singer	2
03/26/25 @ Elton	2
04/03/25 @ South Cameron	1

In other batting news, Hackberry got a massive performance out of Kaston Moore, who went 3-for-5 with five RBI, one run, and one double. Those five RBI gave Moore a new career-high. Lane Gray was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.

Hackberry always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .585. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Starks only posted an OBP of .333.

Hackberry's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-8. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Starks, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-11.

Starks' pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Hackberry hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .318. It's a different story for Starks, though, as they've only averaged .253. Will they be able to contain Hackberry's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.