Softball Game Preview: Cocoa Beach Minutemen vs. Heritage Panthers

The Cocoa Beach Minutemen will head out on the road to challenge the Heritage Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Heritage took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Cocoa Beach, who comes in off a win.

Last Wednesday, Cocoa Beach got the win against Palm Bay by a conclusive 26-9. The Minutemen haven't had any issues with the Pirates recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Cocoa Beach got a massive performance out of Zoe Vella, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of her five plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryleigh Hattrup, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.

Cocoa Beach always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .659. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .659 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.

Meanwhile, Heritage unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-field advantage in their season opener. They came up short against Merritt Island Christian on Thursday, falling 17-2. The defeat continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now lost three in a row.

Heritage saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Alyssa Medina, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.

Cocoa Beach's victory bumped their record up to 2-0-1. As for Heritage, their loss dropped their record down to 0-1.

Cocoa Beach suffered a grim 17-0 defeat to Heritage in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can Cocoa Beach avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.