The Central Bears are taking a road trip to take on the Gulf Buccaneers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Central took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Anclote with a sharp 17-2 win. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Bears as it put an end to their seven-game losing streak.
Jaida Childs
| 04/16/25 vs Anclote | 3 |
| 03/27/25 @ Anclote | 2 |
| 02/18/25 vs Seven Rivers Christian | 2 |
| 04/08/25 @ Citrus | 1 |
| 03/11/25 vs Weeki Wachee | 1 |
Jaida Childs made a splash while hitting and pitching. She pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Childs was even better at the plate, scoring three runs while going 3-for-3. Those three runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Central got a massive performance out of Natalie Atkinson, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two triples, two runs, and two RBI. Those two triples gave Atkinson a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Diandra Bayless, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3.
Central always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .714. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Gulf hadn't done well against Zephyrhills recently (they were 1-6 in their previous seven matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Buccaneers never let the Bulldogs get on the board and left with a 1-0 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Buccaneers have posted since February 26th.
Not much got past Jeovanna Carter, who gave up just a hit and racked up 17 Ks to keep Zephyrhills off the board. Carter has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts any time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Gulf's win was truly a team effort as two different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Lillian Patrias, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
The victory made it two in a row for Gulf and bumps their season record up to 8-11. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for Central, their record is now 3-16.
