Baseball Preview: Sandalwood Saints vs. First Coast Buccaneers
Sandalwood is 9-1 against First Coast since March of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Sandalwood Saints will be playing in front of their home fans against the First Coast Buccaneers at 6:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Sandalwood: 3.1, First Coast: 2.3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Last Monday, while Sandalwood put up plenty of runs, the same can't be said for Parker. Sandalwood was the clear victor by an 11-0 margin over Parker.
Andrew Detlefson looked comfortable as he tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks).
On the hitting side, Daniel Riker was excellent, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Trenton Baskin, who scored a run and stole three bases while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, First Coast was not able to break out of their rough patch on Saturday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a 6-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of Columbia. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest runs First Coast has scored all season.
First Coast also got a good showing from Hayden Carns, who tossed 2.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit.
At the plate, Robert Bryson made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played.
Sandalwood's victory bumped their record up to 7-5. As for First Coast, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Sandalwood has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like First Coast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Sandalwood's way against First Coast in their previous meeting back in March of 2023 as Sandalwood made off with a 16-5 win. Will Sandalwood repeat their success, or does First Coast have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
