The Horizon Hawks will face off against the Celebration Storm at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Horizon is coming into the game hot, having won their last three games.
On Wednesday, Horizon was able to grind out a solid victory over Cypress Creek, taking the game 5-2.
Cooper Mapes made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over four innings pitched. What's more, he also gave up only one walk, the fewest he's had since back in April of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Jaden Blanco
| 02/12/25 @ Cypress Creek | 2 |
| 02/10/25 vs Edgewater | 1 |
| 04/17/24 @ Edgewater | 1 |
| 04/01/24 vs Seminole | 1 |
| 03/29/24 @ West Orange | 1 |
Mapes wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jaden Blanco, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI. The dominant performance also gave Blanco a new career-high in hits (two).
Meanwhile, Celebration hadn't done well against Davenport recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Celebration won by a run and slipped past Davenport 5-4. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Storm.
Like Horizon, Celebration also got a great game from a two-way player: David Sevilla. He struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Sevilla was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-1.
In other batting news, Daniel Velez was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Jay Berrios, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Celebration's win was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 2.25 runs across that stretch. As for Horizon, their victory bumped their record up to 3-0.
