Baseball Game Preview: Gainesville Hurricanes vs. Buchholz Bobcats

Gainesville hasn't had much luck against Buchholz recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Hurricanes will face off against the Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. Gainesville has given up an average of 8.2 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Gainesville is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 18 runs on Friday, they were much more limited against Vanguard on Tuesday. They came up short against the Knights, falling 13-1.

Gainesville saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jackson Dugan, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI.

Meanwhile, Buchholz gave up the first runs on Tuesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They blew past Providence School 11-1. The Bobcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 matchups by seven runs or more this season.

Buchholz let Drew Almond and Cedaris Smith run wild. Almond scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2, while Smith scored a run while going 2-for-4. Those two runs gave Almond a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Zac Brown, who scored a run while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.

Buchholz pushed their record up to 23-1 with the win, which was their 18th straight at home dating back to last season. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Gainesville, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-10.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Gainesville has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Buchholz struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Gainesville suffered a grim 15-1 defeat to Buchholz in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Hurricanes avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.