Baseball Game Preview: Fernandina Beach Pirates vs. St. Augustine Yellow Jackets

The Fernandina Beach Pirates will take on the St. Augustine Yellow Jackets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Fernandina Beach has four straight victories, St. Augustine has six straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Fernandina Beach proved they can win big on Saturday (they won by ten) and on Wednesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They skirted past Baker County 3-2.

Landen Holbrook was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two runs. That home run marked the first that he launched this season.

Meanwhile, St. Augustine lost 11-3 to Spruce Creek on Thursday.

St. Augustine saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brandt Hudgins, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.

Fernandina Beach's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-2. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 3.25 runs across that stretch. As for St. Augustine, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-11.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Fernandina Beach has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. Augustine struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Fernandina Beach might still be hurting after the 8-2 loss they got from St. Augustine in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Can Fernandina Beach avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.