The Charlotte Fightin' Tarpons will challenge the Island Coast Gators at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Charlotte 3.4, Island Coast 2.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Charlotte fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Port Charlotte on Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Pirates by a score of 3-2. Having soared to a lofty 12 runs in the game before, the Fightin' Tarpons couldn't push the score so high this time.
Charlotte saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dylan Klossner, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Island Coast never let their opponents score on Friday. They put the hurt on North Port with a sharp 8-0 win. Considering the Gators have won six matches by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Not much got past Ryan Mueller, who gave up just a hit and racked up ten Ks to keep North Port off the board. Those ten strikeouts gave Mueller a new career-high.
At the plate, Jayven Torres was incredible, scoring a run while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Logan Hawkins, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI and one double.
Charlotte's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 7-6. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Island Coast, their victory bumped their record up to 10-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Charlotte has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Island Coast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Charlotte came out on top in a nail-biter against Island Coast in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, sneaking past 5-3. Will Charlotte repeat their success, or does Island Coast have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
