Preview: Nease Panthers vs. Ponte Vedra Sharks
Nease is 1-6 against Ponte Vedra since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Nease Panthers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Ponte Vedra Sharks at 7:30 p.m. Nease is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.8 runs per game this season.
Nease can now show off three landslide victories after their most recent contest on Thursday. They put the hurt on Bartram Trail with a sharp 8-1 win.
Kristina Campbell made a big impact no matter where she played. She pitched six innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. Campbell was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Aliya Navarro was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-1. Another player making a difference was Grace Adamonis, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Ponte Vedra came up short against Episcopal School of Jacksonville on Thursday and fell 6-3. Ponte Vedra has struggled against Episcopal School of Jacksonville recently, as their matchup on Thursday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Drew Gardner made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Nease's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 5-4. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs per game. As for Ponte Vedra, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Nease hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Ponte Vedra struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.4 per game. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Nease suffered a grim 12-2 defeat to Ponte Vedra when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Nease, Sarah Wicker (who struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
