Baseball Preview: Fort Walton Beach Vikings vs. Escambia Gators
Fort Walton Beach and Escambia are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2020, but likely not for long. The Fort Walton Beach Vikings are on the road again on Thursday to play the Escambia Gators at 6:30 p.m. The pair are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Fort Walton Beach is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by an 8-1 margin over Choctawhatchee.
Hunter Kidd made a splash no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and only one walk). Kidd has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Kidd was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Hunter Tarchalski, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Cannon Wilbur, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Escambia put the finishing touches on their tenth blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 9-2 margin over Booker T. Washington.
Christian Stone was incredible, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Marcus Days, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Fort Walton Beach's win bumped their record up to 10-14. As for Escambia, their victory bumped their record up to 19-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Fort Walton Beach has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Escambia struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Fort Walton Beach might still be hurting after the 9-1 loss they got from Escambia when the teams last played last Tuesday. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Escambia's Isaac Bates, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Now that Fort Walton Beach knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
