Baseball Game Preview: First Coast Buccaneers vs. Fleming Island Golden Eagles

First Coast hasn't had much luck against Fleming Island recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The First Coast Buccaneers will square off against the Fleming Island Golden Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Fleming Island took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on First Coast, who comes in off a win.

While First Coast's win against Mandarin wasn't quite the blowout they won the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. First Coast skirted past Mandarin 2-0.

Hayden Carns

Batters Struck Out (Career)

02/27/25 vs Mandarin	14
02/11/25 vs Stanton	9
02/21/25 @ Camden County	8
04/18/24 vs Englewood	6
03/23/24 @ Columbia	5

Hayden Carns made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. Those 14 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI.

Carns wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Connor Howlett, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, Fleming Island came up short against Buchholz on Friday and fell 6-1. The Golden Eagles haven't had much luck with the Bobcats recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.

First Coast pushed their record up to 5-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. As for Fleming Island, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.

First Coast was able to grind out a solid win over Fleming Island in their previous matchup back in February of 2022, winning 3-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for First Coast since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.