Baseball Preview: Eustis Panthers vs. Pine Ridge Panthers
Eustis will challenge Pine Ridge at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
On Monday, Eustis didn't have quite enough to beat The Villages Charter and fell 6-5. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Ethan Jackson was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, two doubles, and one run. Another player making a difference was Anthony Castiglione, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.
University hit Pine Ridge with a five-run fourth inning on Monday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Panthers fell 11-8 to the Titans. The defeat continues a trend for the Panthers in their meetings with the Titans: they've now lost three in a row.
Pine Ridge saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Derek Rivera, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one run. Nathan Murrah was another, going 1-for-3 with one run and one double.
Eustis' loss dropped their record down to 12-11. As for Pine Ridge, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-11.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Eustis has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Pine Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Eustis was able to grind out a solid victory over Pine Ridge in their previous matchup back in March, winning 8-5. Will Eustis repeat their success, or does Pine Ridge has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps