The Lakewood Spartans will venture away from home to take on the Tarpon Springs Spongers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Lakewood was handed a ten-run defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-6 win over Boca Ciega. The Spartans haven't had any issues with the Pirates recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Kayetano Cavillo
| 03/26/25 @ Boca Ciega | 8 |
| 03/12/25 vs Gibbs | 5 |
| 04/19/24 vs Northeast | 5 |
| 03/07/24 vs Seminole | 4 |
| 03/01/25 @ IMG Academy Navy | 2 |
Kayetano Cavillo was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits. Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Mikal Morris, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. Khristian Miller also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, Tarpon Springs hadn't done well against Northeast recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Tarpon Springs came out on top against Northeast by a score of 8-3. With that win, the Spongers brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Tarpon Springs also got a great performance from Danny Scott as he struck out ten batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. Scott is becoming a predictor of Tarpon Springs' success: when he posts at least eight strikeouts the team is undefeated (and 6-8 when he doesn't).
On the hitting side, Andres Rodriguez was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Carson Tibbetts, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Tarpon Springs' victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 10-8. As for Lakewood, the win was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 3-11.
Lakewood suffered a grim 6-0 defeat to Tarpon Springs when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Can Lakewood avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
