The Central Jaguars will square off against the Pine Forest Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Central has five straight victories, Pine Forest has 11 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Monday, Central was able to grind out a solid win over Santa Rosa Christian, taking the game 7-4. The seven-run effort marked the Jaguars' lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Brock Schmidt made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs but no hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one hit in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Payton Holland, who scored a run while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Quincy Wilson, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Pine Forest's offense. They lost 21-0 to Choctawhatchee on Friday.
Central's victory was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 8.2 runs. As for Pine Forest, their loss dropped their record down to 0-9.
Pine Forest's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Central hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .319. It's a different story for Pine Forest, though, as they've only averaged .200. Will they be able to contain Central's hitters?
Everything went Central's way against Pine Forest in their previous meeting two weeks ago, as Central made off with a 15-2 win. Will Central repeat their success, or does Pine Forest have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
