The Cypress Lake Panthers will face off against the Gateway Eagles at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Gateway took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Cypress Lake, who comes in off a win.
Cypress Lake will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Riverdale, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Panthers skirted past the Raiders 4-2.
Alex Welday looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three).
Jack Peterson
| 04/03/25 vs Riverdale | 4 |
| 02/23/24 vs Lemon Bay | 3 |
| 03/25/25 vs South Fort Myers | 1 |
| 03/17/25 @ Charlotte | 1 |
| 03/07/25 vs IMG Academy Gold | 1 |
At the plate, Jack Peterson was excellent, going 2-for-4 with four RBI. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Harrison Small, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Gateway unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Thursday. They came up short against IMG Academy White, falling 8-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss the Eagles have suffered since February 27th.
Gateway saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Michael Lee, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base.
Cypress Lake's victory bumped their record up to 7-13. As for Gateway, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cypress Lake has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Gateway struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cypress Lake came out on top in a nail-biter against Gateway in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 8-7. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
