Hustlers
| 04/01/25 @ Eau Gallie | 0 |
| 03/31/25 @ Palm Bay | 15 |
| 03/27/25 vs Port St. Lucie | 22 |
| 03/26/25 vs Merritt Island | 5 |
| 03/24/25 vs Heritage | 9 |
| + 13 more games |
The Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers will square off against the Scott County Cardinals at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Melbourne Central Catholic is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.1 runs per game this season.
Melbourne Central Catholic fell victim to Eau Gallie and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Commodores by a score of 2-0. Having soared to a lofty 15 runs in the game before, the Hustlers' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Melbourne Central Catholic saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Thomas Chiuchiolo, who went 1-for-3 with one double.
Meanwhile, Scott County entered their tilt with Chicago Christian on Tuesday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Knights a 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Cardinals, who have now won four matchups by nine runs or more so far this season.
Jack Willhite tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Sebastian Arden and Will Rose did most of the damage at the plate: Arden scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Rose scored three runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Parker Dotson, who scored a run while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Scott County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.
Scott County's win bumped their record up to 8-2. As for Melbourne Central Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Melbourne Central Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Scott County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Melbourne Central Catholic couldn't quite finish off Scott County when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 2-0. Can the Hustlers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
