Baseball Game Preview: Freedom Patriots vs. University Cougars

The Freedom Patriots will square off against the University Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Freedom fell victim to Cypress Creek and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They took a 5-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Bears. The Patriots have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Wandy Soto

Batters Struck Out

03/25/25 vs Cypress Creek	5
03/10/25 vs Cheshire Academy	5
03/03/25 @ Winter Park	5
02/26/25 vs Lake Nona	7
02/20/25 vs Apopka	6

Wandy Soto was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he pitched five innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.

Meanwhile, University can bid farewell to their three-game losing streak thanks to their game on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Colonial 7-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Cougars have posted since February 14th.

Angel Berrios made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Berrios was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Rafael Gonzalez, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. He has become a key player for University: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 2-8 otherwise. Robert Estevez also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Freedom's loss dropped their record down to 5-11. As for University, their win bumped their record up to 5-8.

Freedom beat University 3-0 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Does Freedom have another victory up their sleeve, or will University turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.