Baseball Game Preview: Gulf Buccaneers vs. Zephyrhills Bulldogs

Gulf is 1-6 against Zephyrhills since February of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Gulf Buccaneers will host the Zephyrhills Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Gulf is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.1 runs per game this season.

On Friday, Gulf needed a bit of extra time to put away Seven Rivers Christian. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Warriors 6-4. The Buccaneers haven't had any issues with the Warriors recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.

Jaidon Sopjack was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over seven innings while giving up four earned runs off seven hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-5.

Jared White

Stolen Base (Career)

02/28/25 @ Seven Rivers Christian	2
02/26/25 @ Largo	1
02/18/25 @ Zephyrhills	1
02/29/24 @ Gibbs	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jared White, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in stolen bases. Gio Padilla also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Meanwhile, Zephyrhills came up short against Pasco on Friday, falling 9-1. The Bulldogs have struggled against the Pirates recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.

Zephyrhills' defeat dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Gulf, they now have a winning record of 4-3.

Gulf came out on top in a nail-biter against Zephyrhills when the teams last played last Tuesday, sneaking past 4-2. Will Gulf repeat their success, or does Zephyrhills have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.