The McKeel Academy Wildcats are taking a road trip to square off against the Winter Haven Blue Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
McKeel Academy took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-3 win over Lakeland. The Wildcats haven't had any issues with the Dreadnaughts recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
J.C. Diaz looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he also posted two strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March of 2024.
At the plate, McKeel Academy saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Wyatt Thomas, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Winter Haven posted their biggest win since April 16, 2024 on Friday. They blew past Auburndale 13-6. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Blue Devils.
Winter Haven also got a great performance from Jaden Horbett as he didn't allow a single earned run over 4.2 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Zion Philpot and Brody Catrett did most of the damage at the plate: Philpot scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Catrett went 2-for-5 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Another player making a difference was Tyler Young, who scored two runs while going 2-for-5.
Winter Haven was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .395. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
The victory got McKeel Academy back to even at 1-1. As for Winter Haven, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
McKeel Academy skirted past Winter Haven 3-2 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will McKeel Academy repeat their success, or does Winter Haven have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
