vs
| 03/02/21 - Away | 1-3 L |
| 03/13/19 - Neutral | 9-3 W |
| 02/25/19 - Away | 7-2 W |
| 02/20/18 - Home | 6-0 W |
| 03/17/17 - Home | 2-0 W |
| + 2 more games |
Mandarin is 6-1 against Episcopal School of Jacksonville since February of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Mandarin Mustangs are taking a road trip to take on the Episcopal School of Jacksonville Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Episcopal School of Jacksonville took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Mandarin, who comes in off a win.
Mandarin's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 4-0 victory over Yulee.
The result came thanks to John Brooks's shutout, as he gave up just two hits and racked up 12 Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Makarios Brown, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Those two hits gave him a new career-high. Cameron Jacobsen also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
Meanwhile, Episcopal School of Jacksonville unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They took a 3-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Clay. The game marked the first time this year in which the Eagles were not able to get on the board.
Episcopal School of Jacksonville also got a good showing from Jude McDonald, who struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
At the plate, Episcopal School of Jacksonville saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jack Ottesen, who went 1-for-3 with one double.
Mandarin's win ended a four-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 2-6. Even worse, they were so close so many times: the losses came by an average of only 2.5 runs. As for Episcopal School of Jacksonville, they suffered their first road defeat, dropping their record down to 8-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mandarin has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Episcopal School of Jacksonville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Mandarin couldn't quite finish off Episcopal School of Jacksonville in their previous matchup back in March of 2021 and fell 3-1. Can Mandarin avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
