The Palatka Panthers will venture away from home to square off against the Middleburg Broncos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Palatka made up a huge gap compared to their last game against P.K. Yonge, but still couldn't quite topple them. Everything went Palatka's way against P.K. Yonge on Wednesday as Palatka made off with an 11-4 win. The Panthers' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Paxton Sweat was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out ten batters over 5.1 innings while giving up four earned runs off four hits. Sweat was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI and one stolen base.
Ryan Surrency
| 02/26/25 @ P.K. Yonge | 2 |
| 02/18/25 vs Orange Park | 1 |
| 02/14/25 vs Providence School | 1 |
| 02/11/25 vs Atlantic | 1 |
In other batting news, Ryan Surrency and Cason Thomas did most of the damage at the plate: Surrency scored three runs while going 2-for-2, while Thomas scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. The dominant performance also gave Surrency a new career-high in hits (two). Another player making a difference was Landen Echols, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
While Middleburg didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Yulee 4-2.
Middleburg's win was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Johnny De Antonis, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, one stolen base, and two RBI. Liam Cooper also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
The victory made it two in a row for Palatka and bumps their season record up to 3-4. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 6.5 runs. As for Middleburg, their record now sits at 5-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Palatka has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Middleburg struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Palatka couldn't quite finish off Middleburg in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 and fell 7-5. Can Palatka avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
