Softball Game Preview: Palatka Panthers vs. Bartram Trail Bears

Palatka hasn't had much luck against Bartram Trail recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Bears at 7:00 p.m.

Palatka came into this matchup off a tough eight-run defeat last Friday. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Melbourne by a score of 3-1 on Thursday. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Palatka saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Haleigh Faulkner, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Meanwhile, Bartram Trail entered their tilt with Beachside on Monday with five consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with six. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Barracudas an 11-0 shutout. With that win, the Bears brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.

Not much got past Rommeney Patrey, who gave up just two hits and racked up 11 Ks to keep Beachside off the board. Patrey has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 14 consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Lucie McDonald was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two). Hailey Allen was another key player, scoring two runs while going 4-for-4.

Bartram Trail was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .469. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.

Bartram Trail pushed their record up to 12-6 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.6 runs over those games. As for Palatka, their loss dropped their record down to 6-9.

Palatka might still be hurting after the 9-3 defeat they got from Bartram Trail in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Will the Panthers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.