The Ferguson Falcons will square off against the South Dade Buccaneers at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Ferguson will be strutting in after a win while South Dade will be coming in after a defeat.
Ferguson 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 put the hurt on Coral Gables with a sharp 16-1 victory. Considering the Falcons have won five matches by more than ten runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Ashley Barroso looked comfortable as she pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Ferguson got a massive performance out of Briana Canahuate, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Amaya Santamaria, who went 1-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs.
Ferguson always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .710. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Coral Gables only posted an OBP of .471.
Meanwhile, South Dade fell victim to American and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They came up short against the Patriots, falling 15-0. The game marked the first time this season in which the Buccaneers were not able to get on the board.
South Dade saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was A. Zamora, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one double.
South Dade's loss ended a five-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 3-3. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 14.2 hits in those games compared to only 5.6 in the others. As for Ferguson, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season.
Friday's matchup will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Ferguson hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .489. However, it's not like South Dade struggles in that department as they've averaged .337. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Everything went Ferguson's way against South Dade in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Ferguson made off with a 19-4 win. Will Ferguson repeat their success, or does South Dade have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
