Baseball Game Preview: North Fort Myers Red Knights vs. Charlotte Fightin' Tarpons

For the second straight game, North Fort Myers will face off against Charlotte. The Red Knights will venture away from home to challenge the Fightin' Tarpons at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (North Fort Myers 4, Charlotte 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.

North Fort Myers is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-6 win over Charlotte.

Payton Sturrup looked comfortable as he tossed 2.2 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 one earned run in 12 consecutive appearances.

Jakob Wagner

Runs

03/25/25 @ Lehigh	4
02/19/25 vs Cape Coral	4
03/20/25 @ North Port	3
02/18/25 vs Riverdale	3
04/23/25 @ Charlotte	2
+ 8 more games

At the plate, Jakob Wagner was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. North Fort Myers is undefeated when Wagner posts two or more runs, but 8-10 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Alejandro Velez Rodriguez, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one double.

North Fort Myers has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-10 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for Charlotte, with the loss, they broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 18-10.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Fort Myers has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Charlotte struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.