The Countryside Cougars will square off against the IMG Academy Navy Ascenders at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Countryside 3, IMG Academy Navy 3.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
IMG Academy Navy will be up against a hot Countryside team: the squad just extended their winning streak to five. The Cougars came out on top against Warren East by a score of 5-2 on Tuesday.
Ethan Hawkins looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in ten consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Countryside saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jaxson Contrino, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Another was Brody Sadlowski, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, IMG Academy Navy made easy work of Sarasota Military Academy on Tuesday and carried off a 7-1 victory. Considering the Ascenders have won seven games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Jeffrey Nepa made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over 4.1 innings pitched. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, IMG Academy Navy let Eduardo Abuchaibe Florez and Joonho Song run wild. Abuchaibe Florez went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI, while Song scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. Song has become a key player for IMG Academy Navy: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 7-9 otherwise. Omari Swinton was another key player, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-4.
Countryside's win bumped their record up to 16-6. As for IMG Academy Navy, their victory bumped their record up to 12-9.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Countryside has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like IMG Academy Navy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Countryside beat IMG Academy Navy 5-1 in their previous matchup two weeks ago. Will the Cougars repeat their success, or do the Ascenders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
