Baseball Recap: St. Cloud Takes a Loss

St. Cloud was the 20-9 winner over Apopka when they last played one another back in April of 2025, but their luck changed this time around. The Bulldogs came up short against the Blue Darters on Thursday, falling 18-9. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Bulldogs, who until this game were averaging 3.67 runs allowed.

Jose Alvarado and Hudson Gowan did some serious damage despite the final result: Alvarado went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run, while Gowan went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Brody Aslan, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two RBI and one double.

This is the second loss in a row for St. Cloud and nudges their season record down to 13-2. As for Apopka, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 12 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-7 record this season.

St. Cloud will take on IMG Academy Silver in a tournament on Friday. The Bulldogs' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Ascenders have averaged an impressive 6.3 runs per game this season. As for Apopka, they will head out on the road to challenge Olympia at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.