Baseball Game Preview: IMG Academy White Ascenders vs. Four Corners Coyotes

Ascenders

Runs

02/26/25 vs Inspiration Academy Red	11
02/21/25 vs Anclote	3
02/18/25 @ Bradenton Christian	10
02/12/25 @ Clewiston	1

The IMG Academy White Ascenders will head out on the road to face off against the Four Corners Coyotes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. IMG Academy White is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.2 runs per game this season.

IMG Academy White fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Inspiration Academy Red on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Lions by a score of 12-11. That's two games in a row now that the Ascenders have lost by just one run.

IMG Academy White got a good showing from Charlie Rothbard, who tossed four innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits.

On the hitting side, Owen Armstead made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole four bases while going 2-for-4. Rob Malmgren also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, Four Corners entered their match against Fort Meade on Wednesday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. Four Corners lost 9-3 to Fort Meade.

Four Corners saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Angel Gonzalez, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.

This is the second loss in a row for IMG Academy White and nudges their season record down to 1-3. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the losses came by an average of only one runs. As for Four Corners, they suffered their first home defeat, dropping their record down to 5-2-1.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. IMG Academy White has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Four Corners struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

IMG Academy White came out on top in a nail-biter against Four Corners in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, sneaking past 8-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for IMG Academy White since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.