The Coral Reef Barracudas will square off against the iMater Charter Knights at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.
Last Thursday, Coral Reef came up short against Sunset and fell 9-4.
Coral Reef got a good showing from Ramon Menendez, who pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Menendez has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in nine consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Coral Reef saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Oscar Sanchez, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. Another was Willy Vega, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but iMater Charter ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Sports Leadership & Management 8-7. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Knights.
Luis Hernandez looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Alexey Fuentes, who scored two runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Castillo, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-5.
Coral Reef dropped their record down to 6-15 with the loss, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for iMater Charter, their victory bumped their record up to 15-5-1.
Monday's match might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Coral Reef has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .451. However, it's not like iMater Charter struggles in that department as they've averaged .447. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Coral Reef beat iMater Charter 8-5 in their previous meeting back in March of 2021. Will the Barracudas repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
