The Plant City Raiders are taking a road trip to square off against the Wharton Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Plant City 2.9, Wharton 2.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Plant City took a eight-run loss the last time they faced off against Bloomingdale, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. Plant City skirted past Bloomingdale 3-1. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Raiders.
Alex Rodriguez
| 02/27/25 @ Gaither | 3 |
| 03/11/25 vs Bloomingdale | 1 |
Alex Rodriguez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Plant City is undefeated when he allows at most one walk, but 4-5 otherwise. Rodriguez was even better at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was his first of the season.
In other pitching news, Plant City got a great performance from Jacob Carbaugh as he tossed six innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
Rodriguez wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Salvadore Jaramillo, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3. The dominant performance gave Jaramillo a new career-high in runs. Tyler Black also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
While Wharton didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 victory over Armwood on Tuesday.
Connor Evans tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out eight over 4.2 innings pitched.
At the plate, Braden Bodenstein and Antonio Fawcett did most of the damage at the plate: Bodenstein scored a run while going 1-for-1, while Fawcett scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Jaylen Martin, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Wharton kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in four consecutive matchups.
Plant City's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-5. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of four runs across that stretch. As for Wharton, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-2 record this season.
Plant City skirted past Wharton 3-2 when the teams last played back in February of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Plant City since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
