The Cocoa Beach Minutemen will head out on the road to face off against the Heritage Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Cocoa Beach's pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so Heritage's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Cocoa Beach will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Tuesday, then bounced right back against Space Coast on Wednesday. Cocoa Beach walked away with a 12-7 win over Space Coast. The game marked the Minutemen's most dominant victory of the season so far.
Connor McGrew made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. McGrew was even better at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
In other batting news, Cocoa Beach got a massive performance out of Anthony Ceruti, who scored two runs while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. What's more, Ceruti posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Kristian Wolfe, who scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Cocoa Beach hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Space Coast struck out 12 times.
Meanwhile, Heritage hadn't done well against Rockledge recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Heritage was the clear victors by an 8-1 margin over Rockledge. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Like Cocoa Beach, Heritage also got a great game from a two-way player: Andrew Francisco. He struck out eight batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and only one walk). Francisco has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
Francisco wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Kethziel Torres, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Joel Fernandez also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Heritage's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-4. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing nine hits in those games compared to only four in the others. As for Cocoa Beach, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-3 record this season.
Cocoa Beach's speedy runners might be the difference in Friday's contest. Cocoa Beach has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Heritage, though, as they've been averaging only 1.3 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Cocoa Beach continue to outrun the ball?
Cocoa Beach was able to grind out a solid victory over Heritage in their previous matchup two weeks ago, winning 9-5. Does Cocoa Beach have another victory up their sleeve, or will Heritage turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
