Baseball Game Preview: Menendez Falcons vs. Palatka Panthers

The Menendez Falcons will venture away from home to face off against the Palatka Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Menendez can't be too worried about heading out to take on Palatka: they just beat Covenant School of Jacksonville at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. Menendez sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 victory over Covenant School of Jacksonville on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Falcons have posted since March 26, 2024.

Lucas Drake

Hits (Career)

03/11/25 @ Covenant School of Jacksonville	3
03/07/25 vs Fleming Island	1
03/01/25 @ Bolles	1
02/20/25 vs Palatka	1
04/08/24 vs Bartram Trail	1

Lucas Drake was excellent, going 3-for-4 with one triple and one run. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in hits. Tripp Barkoskie also deserves some recognition as he launched his first home run of the season.

Meanwhile, Palatka owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Tuesday. They blew past Father Lopez 9-0. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won four matches by six runs or more so far this season.

The team relied heavily on Cason Thomas, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Palatka is 3-1 when Thomas posts two or more runs, but 2-6 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Morgan Wiggs, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

With the victory, Palatka broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 5-7. As for Menendez, their win bumped their record up to 4-7.

Menendez beat Palatka 6-2 when the teams last played back in February. The rematch might be a little tougher for Menendez since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.