Baseball Preview: Lemon Bay Manta Rays vs. Mariner Tritons
Lemon Bay is 0-6 against Mariner since February of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Lemon Bay Manta Rays will head out on the road to challenge the Mariner Tritons at 6:00 p.m. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Lemon Bay is is headed into Tuesday's contest looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their third straight game on Thursday. They fell just short of Carrollwood Day by a score of 6-4.
Lemon Bay got a good showing from Wilson Shaw, who tossed three innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. Shaw has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Jacob Connor was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. Joel Vazquez was another key contributor, going 1-for-3 with a triple, two RBI, and a run.
Meanwhile, Mariner fell victim to a tough 14-5 defeat at the hands of Bonita Springs on Thursday.
Princeton (PJ) Marino made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Sam Guth, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Lemon Bay's record is now 7-13. As for Mariner, their record is now 10-13.
Lemon Bay's speedy runners might be the difference in Tuesday's match. Lemon Bay has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.9 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Mariner, though, as they've been averaging only 1. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Lemon Bay continue to outrun the ball?
Lemon Bay couldn't quite finish off Mariner in their previous meeting back in May of 2022 and fell 3-1. Thankfully for Lemon Bay, Sam Duvall (who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over six innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
