Baseball Preview: Escambia Gators vs. Navarre Raiders
Escambia has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the Navarre Raiders at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Escambia is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.
Escambia was handed a two-point defeat in their last match, but they sure didn't let that happen against Booker T. Washington on Monday. Escambia was the clear victor by a 10-0 margin over Booker T. Washington. Escambia might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won four contests by ten runs or more this season.
Clayton Sanders made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Sanders was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a double.
In other batting news, Christian Stone was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Ethan Pardue, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Navarre was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They fell 3-0 to Central.
Navarre saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Lane Kasper, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with a stolen base.
Escambia has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games, which provided a nice bump to their 10-3 record this season. As for Navarre, they now have a losing record at 5-6.
Navarre's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Escambia hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .315. It's a different story for Navarre, though, as they've only averaged .223. Will they be able to contain Escambia's hitters?
Escambia came out on top in a nail-biter against Navarre when the teams last played on March 2nd, sneaking past 1-0. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Navarre's Ace Demotts, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 14 over eight innings pitched. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Escambia still be able to contain Demotts? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
