Baseball Game Preview: Gateway Gators vs. San Domenico Panthers

After both having extra time off, the Gateway Gators and the San Domenico Panthers will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Gateway comes in still looking for their first win of the season.

Gateway came into this matchup off a tough ten-run defeat back in March. This time they kept things ultra-competitive, but unfortunately the final result was the same. They fell just short of Galileo by a score of 7-5 back in March.

Luca Velasquez was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He struck out seven batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. Velasquez was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and two RBI.

In other batting news, Casey Volker was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 3-for-3. Gil Passman-Lapushin also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.

Meanwhile, San Domenico started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Urban. They fell just short of the Blues by a score of 6-5 last Friday. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Julian Mackler made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3.

Gateway's record now sits at 0-5. As for San Domenico, their record is now 4-6.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Gateway has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like San Domenico struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Gateway suffered a grim 17-7 defeat to San Domenico when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can the Gators avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.