South Fork has gone 6-1 against Suncoast recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The South Fork Bulldogs will head out on the road to take on the Suncoast Chargers at 6:30 p.m. South Fork's pitching crew has only allowed 3.7 runs per game this season, so Suncoast's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
South Fork is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Tradition Prep with a sharp 13-7 win on Wednesday. The Bulldogs not only won on Wednesday, but they posted their biggest win since April 19, 2024.
Carter Markin
| 02/25/25 vs Okeechobee | 3 |
| 02/13/25 vs Cardinal Newman | 2 |
Carter Markin looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because South Fork is 2-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 2-6 otherwise.
At the plate, Will Vining was incredible, scoring three runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two). Jason Dennis was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.
South Fork always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .545. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Suncoast entered their tilt with Okeechobee on Wednesday with three consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with four. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 5-4 W against the Brahmans.
Charlie Straub looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Suncoast's victory was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Colin Campbell, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Suncoast's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-4. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 12.5 hits in those games compared to only 5.63 in the others. As for South Fork, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 4-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. South Fork has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Suncoast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
South Fork skirted past Suncoast 2-0 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Does South Fork have another victory up their sleeve, or will Suncoast turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
