The Mount Dora Hurricanes will challenge the Leesburg Yellow Jackets at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Mount Dora is headed into the matchup having just posted their closest win since April 18, 2024 on Friday. They had just enough and edged out South Lake 3-2. The victory continues a trend for the Hurricanes in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won four in a row.
Jack Irwin
| 04/04/25 vs South Lake | 1 |
| 03/24/25 vs Wekiva | 0 |
| 03/18/25 @ Tavares | 2 |
| 03/07/25 vs Umatilla | 2 |
Jack Irwin tossed a big game, striking out eight batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off six hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Ryan Crow was excellent, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Ethan McLain, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Leesburg came into Friday's contest having lost four straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Eustis 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Yellow Jackets have posted against the Panthers since February 20, 2018.
The team relied heavily on Nate Smart, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. That home run marked the first that he launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Nepburn, who went 2-for-3 with one triple and one run.
Mount Dora pushed their record up to 15-6-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Leesburg, their win bumped their record up to 3-14.
Mount Dora took their victory against Leesburg in their previous matchup back in February by a conclusive 15-2 score. Will the Hurricanes repeat their success, or do the Yellow Jackets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
