Gulf Breeze is 1-9 against Pace since March of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Dolphins will venture away from home to take on the Patriots at 6:30 p.m. Gulf Breeze is coming into the game hot, having won their last three games.
Last Tuesday, Gulf Breeze was able to grind out a solid win over Crestview, taking the game 7-4. That's two games straight that the Dolphins have won by exactly three runs.
Sydney Hersom was a major factor no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit over five innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Kylie Reed was excellent, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and two doubles.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pace). They walked away with a 13-9 victory over Navarre on Tuesday. The win continues a trend for the Patriots in their matchups with the Raiders: they've now won nine in a row.
Hannah DeMarcus spent all nine innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and three unearned) runs on eight hits and racked up 15 Ks.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Gracie Ueberroth, who went 5-for-6 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. Kamryn Pierce was another key player, getting on base in four of her six plate appearances with one home run and three RBI.
Pace pushed their record up to 11-1 with the victory, which was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Gulf Breeze, their record is now 10-5.
Both Gulf Breeze and Pace just can't seem to miss. The Dolphins have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.1 hits per game. However, it's not like Pace struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 2.3 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Gulf Breeze suffered a grim 11-0 defeat to Pace in their previous meeting back in February. Can the Dolphins avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
