Baseball Game Preview: Spruce Creek Hawks vs. New Smyrna Beach Barracudas

By Team Reports Mar 21, 2024, 2:13am

Preview: Spruce Creek Hawks vs. New Smyrna Beach Barracudas

Spruce Creek is 8-2 against New Smyrna Beach since April of 2017, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Spruce Creek Hawks will be playing in front of their home fans against the New Smyrna Beach Barracudas at 6:00 p.m. Spruce Creek's pitching crew has only allowed 2.6 runs per game this season, so New Smyrna Beach's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Last Tuesday, Spruce Creek was able to grind out a solid victory over Creekside, taking the game 5-1. The win made it back-to-back victories for Spruce Creek.

Garrett Grant spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Andrew Ezell, who went 1-for-3 with three RBI, a stolen base, and a double. Lucas Badalato was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, New Smyrna Beach came up short against DeLand on Wednesday and fell 8-4. New Smyrna Beach has struggled against DeLand recently, as their matchup on Wednesday was their third consecutive lost matchup.

New Smyrna Beach also got a good showing from Spencer Morrison, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks).

On the hitting side, Brody Kelly made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.

Spruce Creek's win bumped their record up to 9-2. As for New Smyrna Beach, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.

Spruce Creek took their victory against New Smyrna Beach in their previous meeting back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 13-3. Does Spruce Creek have another victory up their sleeve, or will New Smyrna Beach turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps