Port Charlotte and Charlotte are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2019, but likely not for long. The Port Charlotte Pirates will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Charlotte Fightin' Tarpons at 7:00 p.m. Charlotte took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Port Charlotte, who comes in off a win.
Charlotte is hoping to do on Friday what IMG Academy Royal couldn't on Wednesday: put an end to Port Charlotte's winning streak, which now stands at three games. Port Charlotte put the hurt on IMG Academy Royal with a sharp 9-3 win.
Kayvon Santana tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out nine over 5.1 innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Adrian Nina, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Reed Backstrom, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Charlotte unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Wednesday. They fell just short of North Port by a score of 6-5.
Jacob Evak was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 1-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Dominic Giglio, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Even though they lost, Charlotte was hitting in the alleys and finished the game with four doubles. That's the most doubles they've managed all season.
Port Charlotte has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-5 record this season. As for Charlotte, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 11-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Port Charlotte has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Charlotte struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Port Charlotte was able to grind out a solid victory over Charlotte in their previous matchup back in March, winning 6-3. Does Port Charlotte have another victory up their sleeve, or will Charlotte turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
