The Atlantic Collegiate Academy Armada will venture away from home to take on the Mullins Auctioneers at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Atlantic Collegiate Academy can't be too worried about heading out to take on Mullins: they just beat East Clarendon at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. The Armada were the clear victors by a 10-1 margin over the Wolverines on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Armada, who have now won five contests by nine runs or more so far this season.
Atlantic Collegiate Academy got a great performance from Gavin Street as he struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and only one walk).
On the hitting side, Reed Gallup and Coleman Strickland did most of the damage at the plate: Gallup scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Strickland scored a run while going 2-for-3. What's more, Gallup posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. Chase Foxworth was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mullins). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Kingstree a 14-0 shutout on Tuesday. The game was the first time the Auctioneers have beaten the Blazers on their field since April 11, 2018.
Adam Shaw tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 11 over five innings pitched.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Lonnie Alston, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, three stolen bases, and five RBI. Mykell Raysor also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Mullins always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .600. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Atlantic Collegiate Academy's victory was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-3. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.8 runs on average over those games. As for Mullins, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-16.
Atlantic Collegiate Academy took their win against Mullins in their previous matchup back in March by a conclusive 15-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Armada since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.