IMG Academy Navy and Bradenton Christian are an even 4-4 against one another since March of 2021, but likely not for long. The IMG Academy Navy Ascenders will be playing in front of their home fans against the Bradenton Christian Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. IMG Academy Navy is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.
Bradenton Christian's hitters are going to have their work cut out for them on Monday: IMG Academy Navy hadn't allowed a single run the last three times they've hit the field. IMG Academy Navy's pitcher stepped up to hand Lakewood a 10-0 shutout on Saturday. Considering the Ascenders have won four contests by more than six runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Jeffrey Nepa made a big impact no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only a hit over four innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one triple and two RBI. That triple marked the first that he hit this season.
Omari Swinton
| 03/01/25 vs Lakewood | 3 |
| 02/27/25 vs Oasis Christian | 4 |
| 02/25/25 vs St. Petersburg | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Omari Swinton, who scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stole at least one in each of the last three games he's played. Joonho Song was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
IMG Academy Navy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .417. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lakewood only posted a batting average of .133.
The home team had won the previous four meetings between Bradenton Christian and Bayshore, and Bradenton Christian kept the tradition alive. Bradenton Christian came out on top against Bayshore by a score of 4-1 on Thursday.
Garrett Duquette spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up 12 Ks. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts.
On the hitting side, Bradenton Christian saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Waylon Moore, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
IMG Academy Navy pushed their record up to 6-0 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Bradenton Christian, the win got them back to even at 3-3.
Bradenton Christian's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: IMG Academy Navy hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .415. It's a different story for Bradenton Christian, though, as they've only averaged .259. Will they be able to contain IMG Academy Navy's hitters?
IMG Academy Navy beat Bradenton Christian 13-9 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will IMG Academy Navy repeat their success, or does Bradenton Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
