Baseball Game Preview: Mandarin Mustangs vs. Ponte Vedra Sharks

The Mandarin Mustangs are taking a road trip to take on the Ponte Vedra Sharks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Mandarin will be strutting in after a victory while Ponte Vedra will be coming in after a defeat.

Mandarin took a loss when they played away from home last Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They came out on top against Paxon School For Advanced Studies by a score of 5-2. The Mustangs haven't had any issues with the Golden Eagles recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Jack Nadeau looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.

At the plate, Mandarin's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Samuel Smedley, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. CJ Murphy was another, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.

Meanwhile, Thursday just wasn't the day for Ponte Vedra's offense. They fell just short of First Coast by a score of 2-0 on Thursday. The matchup marked the first time this season in which the Sharks were not able to get on the board.

Mandarin pushed their record up to 13-11 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.6 runs over those games. As for Ponte Vedra, with the loss, they broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 13-9.

Mandarin came out on top in a nail-biter against Ponte Vedra in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, sneaking past 6-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mustangs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.