Baseball Preview: Clearwater Tornadoes vs. Seminole Warhawks
Clearwater is 2-8 against Seminole since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Clearwater Tornadoes will head out on the road to square off against the Seminole Warhawks at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Clearwater will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Thursday, then bounced right back against Hernando Christian Academy on Friday. Clearwater put the hurt on Hernando Christian Academy with a sharp 15-2 win. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for Clearwater's hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
Michael O'Hanlan was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. O'Hanlan has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive pitching appearances. O'Hanlan was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Brayden Howard looked comfortable as he tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Logan Bogue, who scored three runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-2. The team also got some help courtesy of Dylan Wood, who went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI, and a double.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Seminole, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Palm Harbor University 6-5.
Seminole also got a great performance from Bronson Shafer as he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit over 4.1 innings pitched.
At the plate, Seminole saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Austin Duffy, who scored a run while going 1-for-4. Another player making a difference was Alex Espaillat, who scored two runs.
Clearwater's record is now 10-12. As for Seminole, their record is now 17-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clearwater has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Seminole struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Clearwater might still be hurting after the 10-0 defeat they got from Seminole in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can Clearwater avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
