The Orange Park Raiders will challenge the Beachside Barracudas at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Orange Park headed into their last game having not scored more than two runs for three straight, but ED White let them put that streak behind them. Orange Park blew past ED White 10-2 on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Raiders in their matchups with the Commanders: they've now won seven in a row.
Chris Contreras
| 03/25/25 @ ED White | 2 |
| 03/11/25 vs Sandalwood | 1 |
| 03/06/25 vs Riverside | 1 |
| 02/20/25 vs Middleburg | 1 |
Chris Contreras and Tyler Whitmarsh were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Contreras tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Whitmarsh pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Contreras has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in eight consecutive appearances. At bat, Contreras scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4, while Whitmarsh scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Those two runs gave Contreras a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nehemiah Stephenson, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Beachside). Everything went their way against Fleming Island on Tuesday as Beachside made off with a 10-2 win. The Barracudas not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since March 28, 2024.
Gabe Gerhardt tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Beachside is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-12 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Brennan Monaco was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-3. Jason Gillespie was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Beachside hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most five strikeouts in three consecutive matches.
Orange Park's victory bumped their record up to 6-12. As for Beachside, their win bumped their record up to 4-13.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Orange Park has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Beachside struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.6 strikeouts. 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 action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
