Baseball Preview: Sickles Gryphons vs. Wesley Chapel Wildcats
The Sickles Gryphons will be playing at home against the Wesley Chapel Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Sickles: 1.6, Wesley Chapel: 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Sickles is hoping to deliver their fans another blowout on Monday, just like they did against Middleton (and have done all season long). Sickles' pitchers stepped up to hand Middleton a 14-0 shutout on Friday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Sickles considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
Ben Durda made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Durda was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Logan Easterlin looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in five consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, Jordan Yost was incredible, going 2-for-3 with two triples, four RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Michael Bynum, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Wesley Chapel suffered a tough 11-3 loss at the hands of Wiregrass Ranch on Friday.
Jordi Dominguez was cooking despite his team's loss, going 3-for-4 with a triple, a run, and an RBI. Dylan Pabon was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Sickles has been performing well recently as they've won 11 of their last 13 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 18-5 record this season. As for Wesley Chapel, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Sickles has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Wesley Chapel struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Sickles was able to grind out a solid win over Wesley Chapel when the teams last played back in March of 2023, winning 7-2. Will Sickles repeat their success, or does Wesley Chapel have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
