The St. Augustine Yellow Jackets will square off against the Episcopal School of Jacksonville Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, St. Augustine was able to grind out a solid victory over Palatka, taking the game 9-4. The win continues a trend for the Yellow Jackets in their matchups with the Panthers: they've now won six in a row.
Jordan Petty was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over four innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Petty was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Maddux Dowler
| 02/13/25 vs Palatka | 3 |
| 03/18/24 vs West Nassau | 2 |
| 03/01/24 vs Seabreeze | 2 |
| 02/27/24 vs Ridgeview | 2 |
| 02/21/24 @ Palatka | 2 |
In other batting news, St. Augustine let Alex McKnight and Maddux Dowler loose on the outfield. McKnight scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Dowler got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run and three RBI. The dominant performance gave Dowler a new career-high in RBI. Xavier Ahr was another key player, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
St. Augustine always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .541. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Palatka only posted an OBP of .394.
Meanwhile, while Episcopal School of Jacksonville put up some runs on Wednesday, the same can't be said for Hilliard. Everything went Episcopal School of Jacksonville's way against Hilliard as Episcopal School of Jacksonville made off with a 10-0 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Eagles.
Clem Nelson looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over four innings pitched.
At the plate, Jack Ottesen was incredible, going a perfect3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one triple. The team also got some help courtesy of Lawson Perry, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI, one run, and one double.
Episcopal School of Jacksonville's win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-0. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for St. Augustine, their victory bumped their record up to 2-0.
