Baseball Game Preview: Ridgeview Panthers vs. First Coast Buccaneers

The Ridgeview Panthers will take on the First Coast Buccaneers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

Ridgeview is headed into the contest having just posted their closest victory since April 4, 2024 on Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-1 win over Christ's Church Academy. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Eagles recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.

Jose Morales spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up eight Ks. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in March of 2024.

On the hitting side, Julio Motta and Waylon Smith did most of the damage at the plate: Motta scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Smith got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI. The dominant performance gave Smith a new career-high in RBI. Caden Sears also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

The home team had come away the winner the last five times First Coast and Wolfson had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. First Coast never let Wolfson get on the board and left with a 1-0 win on Tuesday.

First Coast saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Journey Sutton, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base.

Ridgeview's record is now 4-6. As for First Coast, their record is now 6-4.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Ridgeview has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like First Coast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Ridgeview came out on top in a nail-biter against First Coast when the teams last played back in March of 2022, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ridgeview since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.