Baseball Game Preview: American Patriots vs. Hialeah Gardens Gladiators

The American Patriots will square off against the Hialeah Gardens Gladiators at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Having struggled with eight losses in a row, American turned things around against iMater Charter on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Knights, sneaking past 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Patriots have posted since April 4, 2024.

American's victory was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Anthony Garcia, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Another was Dante Vitola, who scored two runs while getting on base in both of his plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Hialeah Gardens waltzed into their game on Wednesday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They came out on top against the Dolphins by a score of 10-5. That's two games straight that the Gladiators have won by exactly five runs.

The team relied heavily on Anthony Castillo, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Nicholas Ceballos, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.

Hialeah Gardens was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .407. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .357 or higher in six consecutive contests.

Hialeah Gardens' win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-8. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.2 runs over those games. As for American, their win bumped their record up to 2-8.

American suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Hialeah Gardens when the teams last played back in March. Will the Patriots have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.