The South Dade Buccaneers will challenge the Downtown Doral Dolphins at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, it was close, but South Dade sidestepped Belen Jesuit for a 4-3 victory. That's two games straight that the Buccaneers have won by just one run.
Emmanuel Mercedes tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits.
On the hitting side, Kevin Cappacetti was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-2. The team also got some help courtesy of Sebastian De Valle, who went 1-for-3 with one home run.
Meanwhile, Downtown Doral had to endure an 11-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They came out on top against Archbishop Carroll by a score of 9-6 on Monday.
Downtown Doral saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gianni Zarzuela, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. That's the most hits Zarzuela has posted since back in March. Alberto Mardelli was another, scoring two runs.
South Dade is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 12-11 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for Downtown Doral, their victory bumped their record up to 7-16.
South Dade's speedy runners might be the difference in Wednesday's game. The Buccaneers have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.7 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Downtown Doral, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will South Dade continue to outrun the ball?
South Dade took their win against Downtown Doral when the teams last played two weeks ago by a conclusive 10-0 score. Do the Buccaneers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Dolphins turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
