Baseball Game Preview: Eustis Panthers vs. South Lake Eagles

Eustis and South Lake are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2019, but likely not for long. The Eustis Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the South Lake Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Eustis will be coming into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.

Fans were treated to a battle of the Panthers on Wednesday. Eustis came out on top against Pine Ridge by a score of 7-3. Seven seems to be a good number for Eustis as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.

Andrew Walker

Stolen Base

02/26/25 @ Pine Ridge	2
02/21/25 @ Umatilla	3
02/19/25 vs Tavares	1

Andrew Walker was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-3. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stole at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Jabriel Rivera Caraballo also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Eustis was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .303 or higher in three consecutive matchups.

Meanwhile, South Lake entered their game against South Sumter on Thursday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. South Lake fell just short of South Sumter by a score of 6-4.

D Pina made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4.

Eustis pushed their record up to 7-0 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for South Lake, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-2.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Eustis has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like South Lake struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Eustis was able to grind out a solid win over South Lake when the teams last played back in February of 2024, winning 5-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Eustis since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.