The IMG Academy Gold Ascenders will be playing at home against the North Fort Myers Red Knights at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (IMG Academy Gold has three straight wins, North Fort Myers has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
IMG Academy Gold can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent contest on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Cambridge Christian a 10-0 shutout.
IMG Academy Gold got a great performance from Kunimatsu Nishihara as he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Nishihara has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Nate Lynn was a standout: he went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Ethan Stipp, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought game, but North Fort Myers had to settle for a 6-4 defeat against Community School of Naples on Tuesday.
North Fort Myers also got a good showing from Derek Hooker, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Aiden Estrada was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Matthew Blasena was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
IMG Academy Gold's victory bumped their record up to 9-4. As for North Fort Myers, their loss dropped their record down to 5-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. IMG Academy Gold has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Fort Myers struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
