South Lake will square off against Edgewater at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. South Lake is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.
On Thursday, South Lake earned a 6-2 win over Tavares. The victory continues a trend for the Eagles in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won four in a row.
E Hook
E Hook spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on five hits. South Lake is 4-1 when Hook allows one or fewer earned runs, but 8-10 otherwise.
On the hitting side, N Mclees was excellent, scoring a run while going 1-for-3. C Allen was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Meanwhile, while Edgewater put up plenty of runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Jones. The Eagles were the clear victors by a 15-0 margin over the Fightin' Tigers. Considering the Eagles have won eight matches by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Justin Hopper made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high.
In other pitching news, Ethan Quill looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Henry Maletesta, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. Grante Kramer also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Edgewater was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .417. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Edgewater has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 13-11 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for South Lake, they now have a winning record of 12-11.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. South Lake has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Edgewater struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
South Lake skirted past Edgewater 3-1 in their previous meeting back in March of 2021. Will South Lake repeat their success, or does Edgewater has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
