vs
| 03/26/24 - Home | 6-1 W |
| 04/05/23 - Home | 12-7 W |
| 03/28/23 - Away | 3-2 W |
| 04/05/22 - Neutral | 8-3 W |
| 03/10/22 - Home | 0-1 L |
| + 5 more games |
Riverdale is 8-2 against Estero since February of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Riverdale Raiders are taking a road trip to take on the Estero Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Riverdale will bounce into Tuesday's contest after beating Fort Myers, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Riverdale came out on top in a nail-biter against Fort Myers on Friday, sneaking past 5-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Raiders.
Cole Cooke tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits over 4.1 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Riverdale's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Carlos Ayala, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Those RBI marked the first that Ayala's brought in this season.
Meanwhile, after only two runs in their last game, Estero made sure to put some runs up on the board against Lehigh on Friday. Estero put the hurt on Lehigh with a sharp 15-0 victory. With that win, the Wildcats brought their scoring average up to 6.6 runs per game.
Case Bowman made a big impact no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with one stolen base.
In other batting news, Rylan Stewart was a standout: he scored three runs while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in doubles (two). Landon Brown was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
Estero always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .633. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Estero's victory was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.2 runs over those games. As for Riverdale, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Riverdale has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Estero struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Riverdale beat Estero 6-1 when the teams last played back in March of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Riverdale since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
