The Ferguson Falcons will square off against the Mater Bay Academy Rays at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. Ferguson will be strutting in after a win while Mater Bay Academy will be coming in after a loss.
While Ferguson didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-16-1), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past South Dade 17-2 on Friday. The Falcons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven matchups by 11 runs or more this season.
Ashley Barroso made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing four innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits. Barroso was also big at the plate, getting on base in all three of her plate appearances with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Nathalia Salvat and Amaya Santamaria did most of the damage at the plate: Salvat scored four runs and stole Four bases. while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Santamaria went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and two RBI. That triple marked the first that Santamaria hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Andreaneliz Rivera, who scored two runs and stole Three bases. while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Ferguson always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .742. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as South Dade only posted an OBP of .438.
Meanwhile, Mater Bay Academy fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Lourdes Academy on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of Lourdes Academy by a score of 7-6.
Paiten Mclaughlin put in work no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out 11 batters over 7.2 innings while giving up four earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 5.3 strikeouts per game. She was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing Two bases. while going 3-for-5.
In other batting news, Katlynn Figueroa made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Jarilynn Romero, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
The victory made it two in a row for Ferguson and bumps their season record up to 7-2. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Mater Bay Academy, their record now sits at 5-4.
Both Ferguson and Mater Bay Academy just can't seem to miss. Ferguson has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.8 hits per game. However, it's not like Mater Bay Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.2 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Ferguson suffered a grim 13-2 defeat to Mater Bay Academy in their previous matchup back in March of 2024. Can Ferguson avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
