The Citrus Hurricanes will venture away from home to take on The Villages Charter Buffalo at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Citrus hasn't scored more than two runs for three games straight, a trend the squad is eager to reverse.
Citrus came into their game on Wednesday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They came up short against South Sumter, falling 15-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Hurricanes have suffered since March 18th.
Citrus saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Tristan Beck, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Beck also put up a triple, which was his first of the season. Another was Cole Palmeri, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
The Villages Charter never got on the board in their matchup on Monday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Union County on Wednesday. They put the hurt on the Fightin' Tigers with a sharp 10-3 win. The Buffalo might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 games by six runs or more this season.
Torin Foley was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Marcello Cortale was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double.
The Villages Charter was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .419. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Union County only posted a batting average of .222.
The Villages Charter has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Citrus, their loss dropped their record down to 10-14.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Citrus has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like The Villages Charter struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Citrus might still be hurting after the 10-3 defeat they got from The Villages Charter in their previous meeting back in March of 2023. Can the Hurricanes avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
