Mandarin is on a three-game streak of home wins, while Suncoast is on a six-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. Mandarin will welcome Suncoast at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Mandarin 3.8, Suncoast 3.8) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Mandarin is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Andrew Jackson 22-2 on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Mustangs, who have now won six matchups by eight runs or more so far this season.
Aidan Dye and Jack Bernard were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Dye tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Bernard tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). At bat, Dye scored two runs, while Bernard scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Randy Morillo
| 03/25/25 vs Andrew Jackson | 3 |
| 03/17/25 @ Stanton | 1 |
| 03/12/25 vs Baldwin | 1 |
| 03/07/25 vs Orange Park | 1 |
| 02/21/25 @ Menendez | 1 |
In other batting news, Randy Morillo was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Cole Rusak, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Mandarin hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Suncoast had just enough and edged out Nease 6-4 on Wednesday.
Like Mandarin, Suncoast also got a great game from a two-way player: Brady Benevides. He struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits (and not a single walk). Benevides has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lee Ellis, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. He has become a key player for Suncoast: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 6-7 otherwise.
Mandarin has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. Suncoast's victory bumped their record up to 11-7.
