Baseball Game Preview: The First Academy Royals vs. Windermere Wolverines

The First Academy Royals will face off against the Windermere Wolverines at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Windermere will be up against a hot The First Academy squad: the team just extended their winning streak to three. The Royals blew past Montverde Academy 13-2 on Thursday.

The First Academy got a great performance from Tyler Arafet as he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits.

On the hitting side, Kinon Bastian was a standout: he scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Austin Pierzynski, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.

The First Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .519. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .519 or higher in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Windermere won against Dr. Phillips on Tuesday with nine runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. The Wolverines were the clear victors by a 9-2 margin over Lake Minneola. The win was nothing new for the Wolverines as they're now sitting on five straight.

Xavier Roman spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered two runs (both of which were unearned) on six hits.

At the plate, Fraynder Albornez and Diego Borjas did most of the damage at the plate: Albornez went 2-for-3 with four RBI, while Borjas scored a run while going 2-for-4. Randy Ruiz was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.

The First Academy's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 17-4. Those home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.7 runs over those games. As for Windermere, their victory bumped their record up to 18-4.