The Strawberry Crest Chargers will face off against the Plant City Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Strawberry Crest 2.7, Plant City 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Wednesday just wasn't the day for Strawberry Crest's offense. They fell just short of Gaither by a score of 1-0 on Wednesday.
Brisen Tweedy spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Plant City had no problem doing just that on Monday. They put the hurt on the Hurricanes with a sharp 14-4 victory. The high-scoring effort was just what the Raiders needed considering they were shut out in their previous match.
Plant City let Keegan Wilkerson and Drew Cothren run wild. Wilkerson scored two runs while going 4-for-4, while Cothren got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. That's the most RBI Cothren has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Salvadore Jaramillo, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Plant City always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .575. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Plant City is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-11 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Strawberry Crest, their loss dropped their record down to 18-6.
Plant City's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Strawberry Crest hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .318. It's a different story for Plant City, though, as they've only averaged .247. Will they be able to contain Strawberry Crest's hitters?
Strawberry Crest took their victory against Plant City in their previous matchup back in February by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Chargers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
