Manatee is 2-8 against Sarasota since March of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Hurricanes will venture away from home to face off against the Sailors at 5:00 p.m. Sarasota took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Manatee, who comes in off a win.
Having struggled with eight losses in a row, Manatee turned things around against Braden River on Wednesday. They put the hurt on the Pirates with a sharp 20-3 win. With that victory, the Hurricanes brought their scoring average up to 6.9 runs per game.
Hope Jordan
| 04/02/25 @ Braden River | 5 |
| 03/19/24 vs Lakewood Ranch | 4 |
| 03/20/24 @ Braden River | 3 |
| 03/01/24 vs Hardee | 3 |
| 04/26/24 @ Bradenton Christian | 2 |
Hope Jordan was a standout: she went 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and two doubles. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jenna Caldwell, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple.
Manatee hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are 2-1 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Sarasota suffered their closest defeat since February 27th on Tuesday. They fell just short of Parrish Community by a score of 3-1. Surprisingly, this marked the fifth straight game that the away team has come away the victor.
Gemma Mulhollen spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three runs (all of which were unearned) on five hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Sarasota saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gianna Williams, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
With the loss, Sarasota broke their five-game winning streak and moved their record to 12-5. As for Manatee, their win bumped their record up to 3-9.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Manatee hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Sarasota struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Manatee suffered a grim 18-2 defeat to Sarasota in their previous matchup back in February. Can the Hurricanes avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
