Baseball Game Preview: Bonita Springs Bullsharks vs. American Heritage Patriots

Bullsharks

Runs

03/19/25 @ Coral Springs	1
03/12/25 @ McArthur	13
03/11/25 @ Ida Baker	0
03/10/25 @ Golden Gate	13
03/07/25 @ Estero	4
+ 10 more games

The Bonita Springs Bullsharks are taking a road trip to face off against the American Heritage Patriots at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Bonita Springs is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.

Bonita Springs is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 13 runs last Wednesday, they were much more limited against Coral Springs on Wednesday. They took a 4-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Colts.

Bonita Springs got a good showing from Harrison Kalina, who didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Kalina has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.

Meanwhile, American Heritage fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Cardinal Newman on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Crusaders by a score of 4-3. The Patriots' defeat signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.

Mark Aleman was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits.

At the plate, Joseph Castro and Jordan Rich did some serious damage despite the final result: Castro went 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI, while Rich went 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. The dominant performance gave Rich a new career-high in doubles. The team also got some help courtesy of Zack Wilson, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances.

American Heritage's loss dropped their record down to 13-4. As for Bonita Springs, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-5.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bonita Springs has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like American Heritage struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.