The Petal Panthers will challenge the Lafayette Commodores at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Petal's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Harrison Central as Petal made off with a 7-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Red Rebels: they've now won five in a row.
Kaleb Dillon
| 03/06/25 @ Harrison Central | 1 |
| 02/25/25 vs Biloxi | 1 |
| 02/22/25 @ Germantown | 1 |
| 02/18/25 @ West Jones | 2 |
Kaleb Dillon looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Nathan Garner and Easton Giger did most of the damage at the plate: Garner went 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run, while Giger scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. That triple marked the first that Garner hit this season. John Lindsey was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Lafayette beat Center Hill 7-2 on Saturday.
Ian Robinson looked comfortable as he pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Easton Thompson, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in stolen bases. Another player making a difference was Landon Cobbs, who scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-4.
Petal pushed their record up to 7-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 9.5 hits in those games compared to only 4.83 in the others. As for Lafayette, their win bumped their record up to 7-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Petal has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lafayette struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Petal came out on top in a nail-biter against Lafayette when the teams last played back in March of 2023, sneaking past 5-3. Does Petal have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lafayette turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
