The Escambia Gators will square off against the Pine Forest Eagles at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Escambia is coming into the match hot, having won their last five games.
Last Tuesday, Escambia sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-4 victory over Navarre. That's two games straight that the Gators have won by just one run.
Christian Stone made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in six consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
In other pitching news, Escambia got a great performance from Parker Zareck as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over 4.1 innings pitched. Zareck has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Xavier Taylor, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Pine Forest). They put the hurt on L.E.A.D. Academy with a sharp 17-7 win on Thursday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Eagles considering their one-run performance the contest before.
Like Escambia, Pine Forest also got a great game from a two-way player: AL Leatherwood. He pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Leatherwood was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Sthevens Coa Gamarra and Caleb McWilliams did most of the damage at the plate: Coa Gamarra scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while McWilliams went a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBI, two doubles, and one stolen base. Those two doubles gave McWilliams a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Trayvian Murdock, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Pine Forest always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .605. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Escambia's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-5. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.7 runs on average over those games. As for Pine Forest, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-19-1.
Pine Forest's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Escambia hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .381. It's a different story for Pine Forest, though, as they've only averaged .194. Will they be able to contain Escambia's hitters?
Everything went Escambia's way against Pine Forest in their previous matchup back in March, as Escambia made off with an 11-0 win. Will the Gators repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
