The Merritt Island Mustangs will face off against the Eau Gallie Commodores at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Merritt Island is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Satellite, sneaking past 3-2. Winning may never get old, but the Mustangs sure are getting used to it with their sixth in a row.
Shane Patrick
| 04/15/25 vs Satellite | 5 |
| 04/09/25 vs Eau Gallie | 13 |
| 04/01/25 @ Satellite | 5 |
| 03/26/25 @ Melbourne Central Catholic | 8 |
| 03/18/25 vs George Jenkins | 9 |
Shane Patrick spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on six hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Merritt Island's victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Grant Arnold, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI. Another was Ty Brandes, who scored two runs and stole two bases.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Tuesday Eau Gallie sidestepped Rockledge for a 3-1 win.
Eau Gallie also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Carson Lietz gave up a run (which was unearned) on four hits and racked up ten Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Alex Jacobs, who went 2-for-4 with one home run.
Eau Gallie has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Merritt Island, their win bumped their record up to 20-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Merritt Island has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Eau Gallie struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Merritt Island skirted past Eau Gallie 2-1 in their previous meeting last Wednesday. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mustangs since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
