Baseball Preview: Clearwater Tornadoes vs. Hernando Christian Academy Lions
The Clearwater Tornadoes will head out on the road to square off against the Hernando Christian Academy Lions at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Clearwater is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.
On Thursday, Clearwater didn't have quite enough to beat Largo and fell 2-1.
Jacob Thomas spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on seven hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Clearwater saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Michael O'Hanlan, who went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Hernando Christian Academy ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They walked away with a 15-11 victory over Foundation Christian Academy. The high-scoring effort was just what Hernando Christian Academy needed considering they were shutout in their previous match.
Hernando Christian Academy got a massive performance out of Blake Bandy, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Perdomo, who went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a double.
Clearwater's defeat ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-12. As for Hernando Christian Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-9 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Clearwater has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Hernando Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.6. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Clearwater's way against Hernando Christian Academy in their previous matchup back in April of 2023 as Clearwater made off with a 10-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Clearwater since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
