Baseball Game Preview: Auburndale Bloodhounds vs. Gateway Panthers

The Auburndale Bloodhounds will face off against the Gateway Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Auburndale will be looking to extend their current three-game winning streak.

Auburndale saw some tournament action on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Davenport with a sharp 11-1 win.

Colin Holmes and Carter Brattlie made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Holmes tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Brattlie tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has become a key player for Auburndale: the team is 4-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 4-15 otherwise. At the plate, Holmes went a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base and two RBI, while Brattlie scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. That's the most RBI Holmes has posted since back in March.

Caiden Whittenton

Runs (Career)

04/08/25 vs Davenport	3
04/07/25 vs Lake Gibson	1
03/27/25 @ Santa Fe Catholic	1
03/25/25 vs Pasco	1
03/13/25 @ Lake Wales	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Caiden Whittenton, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Thomas Pitard, who went 1-for-4 with three RBI.

Auburndale always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .516. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .516 or higher in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Gateway didn't have quite enough to beat Osceola on Thursday and fell 4-2. That's two games in a row now that the Panthers have lost by exactly two runs.

Gateway saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Justin Zavarce, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

Auburndale pushed their record up to 8-16 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.7 runs over those games. As for Gateway, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 11-11 record this season.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Auburndale has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Gateway struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.