Baseball Preview: Palmetto Panthers vs. Southwest Eagles
After two games on the road, Palmetto is heading back home. They will take on the Southwest Eagles at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Palmetto will head into Wednesday's game on the come-up: they were handed a nine-point loss in their previous outing, but they didn't let that bad energy affect their game against Monsignor Pace on Wednesday. Palmetto sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-6 victory over Monsignor Pace.
Jake Cruz tossed a big game, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up four earned (and two unearned) runs off nine hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jack Gordon, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his six plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Ortega, who scored two runs while going 2-for-5.
Meanwhile, Southwest waltzed into their match on Tuesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They beat the Bulldogs by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 3-2.
Nestor Quintana tossed a big game, striking out six batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, Southwest's win was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Joel Cabrera, who scored a run while going 3-for-3.
Palmetto's victory bumped their record up to 12-9. As for Southwest, they are on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 11 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 17-3 record this season.
Friday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Palmetto has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .447. However, it's not like Southwest struggles in that department as they've averaged .435. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Palmetto couldn't quite finish off Southwest when the teams last played back in February and fell 7-5. Can Palmetto avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
