Baseball Game Preview: Citrus Hurricanes vs. South Sumter Raiders

The Citrus Hurricanes are taking a road trip to square off against the South Sumter Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Citrus will be strutting in after a victory while South Sumter will be coming in after a defeat.

While Hurricanes fans will have to keep waiting for their team to come home, they shouldn't be too worried about the road trip considering the result of Tuesday's season opener. They skirted past Hernando 4-3.

Landon Sanders was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 11 batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in April of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. What's more, he also racked up two RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024.

Sanders wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Cade Arnold, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3. That's the most runs Arnold has posted since back in March of 2024.

Meanwhile, South Sumter fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Mount Dora on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Hurricanes by a score of 10-8. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Raiders have suffered since February 29, 2024.

Cody Deason was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off three hits (and only one walk).

At the plate, James Boone made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Ismael Rodriguez, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.

Citrus suffered a grim 8-1 defeat to South Sumter in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can Citrus avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.