The Lemon Bay Manta Rays will face off against the Riverview Sarasota Rams at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Lemon Bay has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with three, while Riverview Sarasota will come in with three straight wins.
Lemon Bay fell victim to Estero and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They took a 5-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Wildcats. The contest marked that first time this season in which Lemon Bay was not able to get on the board.
David Kraft was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (he also didn't allow any walks).
Meanwhile, Riverview Sarasota scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Thursday. They came out on top against North Port by a score of 10-7.
Jeffery Richardson looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit (he also didn't allow any walks). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Cooper Backman was a standout: he scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Caiden Cabral was another key contributor, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, a triple, and two RBI.
Lemon Bay's loss dropped their record down to 5-9. As for Riverview Sarasota, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a massive bump to their 6-10 record this season.
Lemon Bay's speedy runners might be the difference in Saturday's game. Lemon Bay has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.6 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Riverview Sarasota, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Lemon Bay continue to outrun the ball? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
