The Sunlake Seahawks will challenge the IMG Academy Black Ascenders at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Sunlake: 1.8, IMG Academy Black: 3.2) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Sunlake's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They skirted past Wiregrass Ranch 2-0. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Seahawks.
Jacob Morgan looked comfortable as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over four innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Lucas Zarlenga was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two runs and one triple. That's the most runs he has posted since back in March of 2024. Tommy Hoye also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, IMG Academy Black put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. They came out on top against Sunshine State Elite Academy by a score of 7-3.
Bennett Jacobs looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Sebastian Wilson, who scored two runs while going 3-for-3. Charlie Messina was another key player, going 1-for-2 with two runs and one triple.
IMG Academy Black was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .375 or higher in three consecutive games.
IMG Academy Black's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Sunlake, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Sunlake hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like IMG Academy Black struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
