Baseball Game Preview: Charlotte Fightin' Tarpons vs. Lemon Bay Manta Rays

Charlotte and Lemon Bay are an even 5-5 against one another since March of 2020, but likely not for long. The Fightin' Tarpons will host the Manta Rays at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Charlotte's pitching crew has only allowed 3.7 runs per game this season, so Lemon Bay's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Charlotte was handed a seven-run loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Saturday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Port Charlotte, sneaking past 4-3.

Luke Wadsworth

Doubles (Career)

04/05/25 vs Port Charlotte	2
03/14/25 @ Lakewood Ranch	1
03/11/25 vs Island Coast	1
03/01/24 vs Mobile Christian	1

Luke Wadsworth was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in doubles (two). Adam Lee was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.

Meanwhile, Saturday just wasn't the day for Lemon Bay's offense. They fell just short of North Port by a score of 2-0 on Saturday. Having soared to a lofty 14 runs in the game before, the Manta Rays' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.

Charlotte is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.5 runs over those games. As for Lemon Bay, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-8.

Charlotte came out on top in a nail-biter against Lemon Bay in their previous meeting back in February, sneaking past 4-2. Do the Fightin' Tarpons have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Manta Rays turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.