First Coast hasn't had much luck against Mandarin recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The First Coast Buccaneers will take on the Mandarin Mustangs at 6:05 p.m. This will be First Coast's first chance to prove their worth in the conference.
First Coast is headed into the match having just suffered their biggest loss since April 24, 2024 on Wednesday. They lost 16-1 to Atlantic Coast. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Buccaneers' biggest loss of the season was also their lowest-scoring.
Meanwhile, Mandarin had to endure a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season, but that streak is no more. They blew past Menendez 10-1 on Friday. The Mustangs' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Gavin Loper made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in March of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (two).
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cole Rusak, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI, one triple, and one stolen base. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Samuel Smedley also deserves some recognition as he stole his first stolen base of the season.
First Coast's defeat dropped their record down to 4-2. As for Mandarin, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-4.
Everything went First Coast's way against Mandarin in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, as First Coast made off with an 11-0 victory. Will First Coast repeat their success, or does Mandarin have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
