Baseball Game Preview: Hardee Wildcats vs. Frostproof Bulldogs

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Previous Games

04/02/24 - Away	6-1 W
02/29/24 - Home	9-2 W
04/18/23 - Away	13-7 W
03/10/23 - Home	14-0 W
04/21/22 - Away	5-4 W
+ 5 more games

Hardee is 9-1 against Frostproof since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Hardee Wildcats will be taking part in a tournament against the Frostproof Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Hardee's pitching crew has only allowed 3.2 runs per game this season, so Frostproof's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

On Friday, Hardee came up short against Fort Meade and fell 5-2. The Wildcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Hardee saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mekhi Taylor, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Cody Rieder also deserves some recognition as he stolen his first stolen base of the season.

Meanwhile, Frostproof sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-7 win over Victory Christian Academy on Friday. The Bulldogs haven't had any issues with the Storm recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.

The team relied heavily on Nico Rybinski, who scored three runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in runs. Luke Thornton was another key player, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with two RBI.

Hardee's loss dropped their record down to 2-2. As for Frostproof, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hardee has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Frostproof struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Hardee was able to grind out a solid victory over Frostproof when the teams last played back in April of 2024, winning 6-1. Will Hardee repeat their success, or does Frostproof have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.