Baseball Game Preview: Lake Minneola Hawks vs. Melbourne Bulldogs

The Lake Minneola Hawks will challenge the Melbourne Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Lake Minneola 3.8, Melbourne 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Lake Minneola is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 7-1 margin over South Lake. The Hawks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten games by six runs or more this season.

Jacob Cali was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in nine consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and three RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in February of 2024.

Brady Montrowl

Batters Struck Out

04/17/25 vs South Lake	10
04/09/25 @ Montverde Academy	10
04/03/25 vs Windermere	5
03/25/25 vs Horizon	12
03/18/25 vs Montverde Academy	7
+ 4 more games

In other pitching news, Lake Minneola got a great performance from Brady Montrowl as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out ten over six innings pitched. Montrowl has been consistent for a while: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in nine consecutive appearances.

Back at the plate, Fabian Antosanti was excellent, going 1-for-2 with three RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March.

Meanwhile, Melbourne unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Wednesday. They fell just short of Viera by a score of 4-3.

Jacob Hershey was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed six innings while giving up just two earned runs off six hits.

On the hitting side, Gabriel Gonzalez was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Bryson Ayala was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run.

Lake Minneola is on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 14 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-7 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Melbourne, their defeat dropped their record down to 17-8.