The Suwannee Bulldogs will head out to take on the South Walton Seahawks at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Suwannee is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They never let West Florida get on the board and left with a 7-0 win.
The result came thanks to G Garcia's shutout, as he gave up just two hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kyler Watson, who went 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March. Caiden Jenkins was another key player, going a perfect 1-for-1 with three runs.
Meanwhile, South Walton came tearing into Tuesday's contest with 17 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.2 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Warriors with a sharp 8-0 victory. That's two games straight that the Seahawks have won by exactly eight runs.
Coleman Borthwick was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out six batters over 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). Borthwick was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
In other pitching news, South Walton got a great performance from Denton Lord as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over 4.2 innings pitched.
Back at the plate, Jackson Perkins was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Lucas Caraway, who went 2-for-3 with two runs.
South Walton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .559. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as West Nassau only posted an OBP of .240.
Suwannee has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 15 of their last 17 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 23-8 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for South Walton, they pushed their record up to 28-3 with the victory, which was their 13th straight at home.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Suwannee has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like South Walton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Suwannee was able to grind out a solid win over South Walton when the teams last played back in April of 2021, winning 6-1. Do the Bulldogs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Seahawks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
