Gateway Charter is a perfect 8-0 against Moore Haven since February of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Griffins will host the Terriers at 6:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Moore Haven will be up against a hot Gateway Charter team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. The Griffins' pitchers stepped up to hand The Village School of Naples an 8-0 shutout on Wednesday.
Brandon Hale
| 02/25/26 vs The Village School of Naples | 2 |
| 02/18/26 vs East Lee County | 1 |
| 03/27/25 @ Lehigh | 1 |
| 03/06/25 @ Lehigh | 1 |
Daniel Mendez and Brandon Hale made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Mendez pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Hale kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Gateway Charter is 3-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 1-2 otherwise. At bat, Mendez went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI, while Hale went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Those two RBI gave Hale a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jack Anastasio, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Those three RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Tucker Crary, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Moore Haven). Everything went their way against Pahokee on Thursday as they made off with a 26-0 win. With that victory, the Terriers brought their scoring average up to 9.2 runs per game.
Like Gateway Charter, Moore Haven also got a great game from a two-way player: Manny Rodriguez. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. Rodriguez was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBI. Those hits were his first of the season.
In other batting news, Moore Haven got a massive performance out of Grisham Palladino, who went 1-for-2 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Those RBI marked the first that Palladino has brought in this season. Another player making a difference was Stetson Stokes, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with three runs and two RBI.
Moore Haven always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .711. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Gateway Charter now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Moore Haven, their win bumped their record up to 4-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Gateway Charter has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Moore Haven struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Gateway Charter's way against Moore Haven in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Gateway Charter made off with a 14-0 victory. Do the Griffins have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Terriers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
