Lakeland High School’s baseball team weathered a rough second inning and scored in five out of the six innings played on Tuesday to defeat host Phoebus High School 16-6 in a game ended by the mercy rule.

“We just did well offensively tonight,” Cavaliers head coach David Devers said. “We put up 16 runs off 16 hits.”

Lakeland racked up seven of those runs in the first inning. However, the coach said some pitching struggles and a couple of errors allowed the Phantoms to respond with five runs in the second.

“But we just stayed steady and continued,” Devers said.

The Cavs scored one run in the fourth, two in the fifth and five in the sixth.

Lakeland’s standouts were led by senior Tyler Lilley, who “continued to have a strong showing since I moved him to the four spot,” Devers said, referring to the team’s batting order. Lilley went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in and two runs scored.

Senior Ryan Stalnaker went 3-for-5, with two RBIs and three runs scored, while senior Jefferson Knight went 2-for-5, with a solo home run, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Senior Tyler McCaw went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and one run scored; additionally, he only pitched two innings, but got the win to go 1-0 on the mound.

Three games remain in the regular season for the Cavs, all featuring conference teams from across the water, against which Lakeland has yet to lose. After his team struggled to win early on this year, Devers noted the effect the recent string of success has had on his players.

“I feel like they’re starting to get some confidence to them, and it just feels like everything’s starting to click at the right time,” he said, as the Ironclad Conference tournament approaches.

Lakeland (5-10, 3-4) visits Denbigh High School this evening. A week from today, the Cavaliers host Phoebus, and then the day after, they host Heritage High School on Senior Night.