The Royal Palm Beach Wildcats will take on the Monarch Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Royal Palm Beach's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 4-0 victory over Olympic Heights. The win continues a trend for the Wildcats in their matchups with the Lions: they've now won four in a row.
Brandon Valdez
| 03/04/25 @ St. John Paul II Academy | 5 |
| 02/28/25 vs Forest Hill | 3 |
| 02/26/25 vs Spanish River | 2 |
| 02/21/25 vs Oxbridge Academy | 1 |
| 02/10/25 vs Jupiter Christian | 1 |
Royal Palm Beach got a great performance from Brandon Valdez as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over 4.2 innings pitched. Valdez also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Royal Palm Beach is 3-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-7 otherwise.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Santino Spidalieri, who scored two runs and stole Three bases. while going 1-for-2. He is becoming a predictor of Royal Palm Beach's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-8 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Deangleo Davila, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, one double, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Monarch came into Thursday's game having lost four straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They were the clear victor by a 12-6 margin over South Broward on Thursday. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for the Knights' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Diego Rojas was incredible, going 4-for-5 with six RBI, three runs, and one triple. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in hits. Jacob Weiner was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing Three bases. while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Monarch kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Monarch's victory bumped their record up to 4-9. As for Royal Palm Beach, their win bumped their record up to 6-8.
Royal Palm Beach came out on top in a nail-biter against Monarch in their previous meeting back in May of 2015, sneaking past 1-0. Does Royal Palm Beach have another victory up their sleeve, or will Monarch turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
