Manta Rays
| 03/04/25 vs Charlotte | 5 |
| 02/28/25 @ Hardee | 11 |
| 02/25/25 vs Port Charlotte | 19 |
| 02/20/25 vs Venice | 4 |
| 02/18/25 @ Evangelical Christian | 0 |
Lemon Bay hasn't had much luck against Venice recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Lemon Bay Manta Rays will face off against the Venice Indians at 7:00 p.m. Lemon Bay is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.8 runs per game this season.
Last Tuesday, Lemon Bay came up short against Charlotte and fell 9-5.
Lemon Bay saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cassidy Robejsek, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. Kylie Jones also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Venice waltzed into their match on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Pirates a 19-0 shutout. The Indians might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four contests by seven runs or more this season.
Olivia Wilkie made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of her three plate appearances with two RBI.
In other batting news, Venice got a massive performance out of Raionna Smith, who scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-1. Those two stolen bases gave Smith a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kaylin Smith, who scored three runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in all three of her plate appearances.
Venice hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most four strikeouts in three consecutive games.
Venice's record now sits at 5-1. As for Lemon Bay, they now have a losing record of 2-3.
Friday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Lemon Bay hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .351. However, it's not like Venice struggles in that department as they've averaged .366. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Lemon Bay suffered a grim 16-4 defeat to Venice in their previous matchup two weeks ago. Can Lemon Bay avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
