The South Sumter Raiders are headed away from home for the first time to take on the Belleview Rattlers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
South Sumter was handed a heart-breaking two-run defeat in their last match, but they sure didn't let that happen against Citrus on Wednesday. South Sumter was the clear victors by a 15-1 margin over Citrus. The Raiders haven't had any issues with the Hurricanes recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Tyson Lake made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Lake was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Jackson Gill looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024.
James Boone
| 02/12/25 vs Citrus | 3 |
| 04/12/24 vs Pasco | 2 |
| 03/15/24 vs The Villages Charter | 2 |
| 02/27/24 vs First Academy | 2 |
| 02/22/24 @ Gulf | 2 |
Back at the plate, South Sumter got a massive performance out of James Boone, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. The dominant performance gave Boone a new career-high in runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Kamren Gilliam, who went a perfect3-for-3 with three runs, three doubles, and three RBI.
South Sumter kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now hit at least nine hits every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, Belleview gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Tuesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Lake Weir a 6-0 shutout.
Belleview's win was truly a team effort as six different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ethan Gifford, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
South Sumter now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Belleview, their record is now 1-0.
South Sumter was able to grind out a solid victory over Belleview in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, winning 4-1. Will South Sumter repeat their success, or does Belleview have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
