Crescent City hasn't had much luck against Palatka recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Raiders will square off against the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. Crescent City has given up an average of 10.8 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Crescent City is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to ten runs on Monday, they were much more limited against Interlachen on Tuesday. They lost 12-2 to the Rams.
Meanwhile, Palatka came tearing into Tuesday's game with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.5 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Everything went their way against the Warriors as they made off with a 17-1 victory. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won nine matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Tristin Bahena looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Luke Oberman and Jacob Gaskin did most of the damage at the plate: Oberman went a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base, while Gaskin scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. The dominant performance also gave Gaskin a new career-high in RBI (three). Another player making a difference was Cason Thomas, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Palatka always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .655. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Palatka's win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-8. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.6 runs over those games. As for Crescent City, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-13.
Crescent City came up short against Palatka in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, falling 9-5. Can the Raiders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
