The Brito Panthers will square off against the Dade Christian Warriors at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Brito lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Goleman, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Wednesday's match. Brito was the clear victors by an 18-7 margin over Goleman on Wednesday. The Panthers' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Claudio De Los Santos
| 03/12/25 @ Goleman | 2 |
| 02/24/25 @ Monsignor Pace | 1 |
| 05/08/24 @ Westminster Academy | 1 |
| 04/11/24 @ iMater Charter | 1 |
Claudio De Los Santos was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in hits. The team also got some help courtesy of Samuel Castro, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Brito always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .643. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Dade Christian came tearing into Thursday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victor by a 10-1 margin over the Cowboys. Considering the Warriors have won six games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Leodan Rodriguez tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched. He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Dade Christian is undefeated when he allows at most two walks, but 6-7 otherwise.
At the plate, Yael Amador was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. Dade Christian is undefeated when Amador posts two or more runs, but 6-7 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Alexander Mendoza Jr, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Dade Christian pushed their record up to 9-7 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Brito, their victory ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 5-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Brito hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Dade Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Brito skirted past Dade Christian 3-2 in their previous matchup last Monday. Will Brito repeat their success, or does Dade Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
