Softball Game Preview: Merritt Island Mustangs vs. Coral Reef Barracudas

The Merritt Island Mustangs will take on the Coral Reef Barracudas in a tournament on Saturday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Merritt Island easily dispatched Okeechobee on Friday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Mustangs fell just short of Pembroke Pines Charter by a score of 5-3 on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Mustangs have suffered since February 20th.

Meanwhile, while it was Coral Reef who put the first runs on the board on Friday, it was Palm Beach Gardens who put up more. The Barracudas fell just short of the Gators by a score of 2-1.

Quinley Wylie spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Coral Reef saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brianna Fields, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.

Merritt Island now has a losing record of 8-9. As for Coral Reef, their loss dropped their record down to 13-4.

Merritt Island came up short against Coral Reef in their previous matchup back in April of 2022, falling 7-2. Can the Mustangs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.