The IMG Academy Navy Ascenders will face off against the St. Petersburg Catholic Barons at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses apiece.
IMG Academy Navy's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Monday's struggle, when Treasure Coast hitters got past them. IMG Academy Navy came up short against Treasure Coast on Monday, falling 13-2.
Omari Swinton was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, St. Petersburg Catholic fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against University Christian on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Christians by a score of 4-3.
Sam Newman put in work no matter where he played. He tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. St. Petersburg Catholic is 3-1 when Newman allowsone or fewer earned runs, but 3-8 otherwise. Newman was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.
In other pitching news, St. Petersburg Catholic got a good showing from Troy Burke, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, Burke gave up only zero earned runs, the fewest he's had since back in February.
Newman wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Ethan Carbonell, who went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases and one double. The dominant performance gave Carbonell a new career-high in stolen bases. Aidan Heelan was another, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-5.
IMG Academy Navy's loss dropped their record down to 8-4. As for St. Petersburg Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-9.
St. Petersburg Catholic's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: IMG Academy Navy hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .361. It's a different story for St. Petersburg Catholic, though, as they've only averaged .239. Will they be able to contain IMG Academy Navy's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
