The Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders will face off against the Carrollwood Day Patriots at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Clearwater Central Catholic 4, Carrollwood Day 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Monday, Clearwater Central Catholic earned an 8-3 victory over St. Petersburg. That five run margin sets a new team best for the Marauders this season.
Luke Brkljacic made a big impact no matter where he played. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.
In other pitching news, Clearwater Central Catholic got a great performance from Zach Wheeler as he tossed five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Wheeler has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
Austin Snyder
| 04/07/25 vs St. Petersburg | 3 |
| 03/18/25 vs Northeast | 1 |
| 03/14/25 @ East Lake | 1 |
| 03/11/25 @ Carrollwood Day | 1 |
| 03/07/25 vs Berkeley Prep | 1 |
Back at the plate, Austin Snyder was excellent, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Kyle Granese was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Clearwater Central Catholic was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .433. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Carrollwood Day, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They had just enough and edged out Bishop McLaughlin Catholic 3-2 on Friday.
Evan Mazur tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits.
On the hitting side, Carrollwood Day saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Steven Vargo, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Clearwater Central Catholic has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-15 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Carrollwood Day, their victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clearwater Central Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Carrollwood Day struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.3 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 match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
