The Winter Springs Bears will take on the Timber Creek Wolves at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Winter Springs comes in on seven and Timber Creek on three.
Winter Springs had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the eight-run drubbing they dealt Lake Brantley on Tuesday. The Bears never let the Patriots get on the board and left with an 8-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Bears, who have now won eight games by seven runs or more so far this season.
Aiden Smarrito tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Alex Dameron and Luke Walters did most of the damage at the plate: Dameron scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2, while Walters went 3-for-4 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That's the most hits Walters has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Tyler Kenast, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double.
Winter Springs was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lake Brantley only posted a batting average of .048.
Meanwhile, Timber Creek beat Lake Nona 8-4 on Monday.
Timber Creek also got a great performance from Hunter Wieckowski as he pitched 6.2 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits.
At the plate, Johann Mercado was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-4. Ayden Miranda was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base.
Winter Springs pushed their record up to 19-4 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.9 runs on average over those games. As for Timber Creek, their record is now 15-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Winter Springs has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Timber Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Winter Springs was able to grind out a solid win over Timber Creek in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, winning 6-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bears since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
