Baseball Game Preview: St. Augustine Yellow Jackets vs. Bartram Trail Bears

The St. Augustine Yellow Jackets will venture away from home to challenge the Bartram Trail Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. St. Augustine's pitching crew has only allowed two runs per game this season, so Bartram Trail's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

St. Augustine's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They came out on top against Fleming Island by a score of 5-0.

Cooper Kiker

Batters Struck Out

02/18/25 vs Fleming Island	13
02/14/25 vs Episcopal School of Jacksonville	3

Cooper Kiker was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 13 over six innings pitched. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.3 strikeouts per game. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024.

In other batting news, Nico Knight and Maddux Dowler did most of the damage at the plate: Knight went 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Dowler scored a run while going 1-for-4. That's the most RBI Knight has posted since back in April of 2024.

Meanwhile, Bartram Trail won against Beachside last Tuesday with seven runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Thursday. Bartram Trail walked away with a 7-2 win over Chiles. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Bears.

Bartram Trail also got a great performance from Croix DiBacco as he didn't allow a single earned run and only a hit over five innings pitched.

At the plate, Max Wilkerson was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Colby Dean was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.

St. Augustine's record is now 3-1. As for Bartram Trail, their record now sits at 2-0.

St. Augustine skirted past Bartram Trail 11-10 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Augustine since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.