A feisty cat fight will be fought as the Panthers face off against the Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Lecanto took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against River Ridge, sneaking past 1-0. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Panthers as it put an end to their five-game losing streak.
Abigail Males
| 02/26/25 vs River Ridge | 10 |
| 02/25/25 @ Springstead | 7 |
| 02/22/25 vs DeLand | 5 |
| 02/22/25 vs South Sumter | 9 |
| 02/20/25 @ The Villages Charter | 9 |
| 02/20/25 vs Trinity Catholic | 11 |
The result came thanks to Abigail Males's shutout, as she gave up just two hits and racked up ten Ks. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Lecanto saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Izzy Coimbre, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one double. Kierstyn Swayze also deserves some recognition as she brought in her first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Forest). Everything went their way against Lake Weir on Thursday as Forest made off with a 14-2 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Wildcats.
The team relied heavily on Jaiden Prestipino, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, seven RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Lewis, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 5-for-5.
Forest kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 19 hits. That's the most hits they've posted since back in April of 2024.
Lecanto's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-5. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.6 runs over those games. As for Forest, the victory got them back to even at 2-2.
Lecanto took their win against Forest when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 7-1. Will Lecanto repeat their success, or does Forest have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
