The Gainesville Hurricanes will head out on the road to challenge the Forest Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
Gainesville made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Buchholz, but they still couldn't quite topple them. Gainesville was the clear victor by an 11-2 margin over Buchholz two weeks ago. The Hurricanes' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
McKenna O'Sullivan made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. O'Sullivan was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Madisyn Gillins, who scored four runs while going 3-for-3. Da'Kinyah Smith also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Forest challenged Dunnellon on Tuesday. Forest was the clear victor by a 16-1 margin over Dunnellon. Considering the Wildcats have won six matches by more than seven runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Like Gainesville, Forest also got a great game from a two-way player: Reagan Quinn. She pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Quinn was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 1-for-3. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Jaiden Prestipino was a standout: she scored two runs while going 2-for-3. She has been hot recently, having also posted three or more RBI the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Naomi Meyer, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
Forest was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .414. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .393 or higher in three consecutive contests.
Gainesville's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-5. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Forest, their record now sits at 7-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Wednesday. Gainesville hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.8 home runs per game. However, it's not like Forest struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Gainesville skirted past Forest 3-1 when the teams last played two weeks ago. The rematch might be a little tougher for Gainesville since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
