It may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but South Sumter ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Hernando Leopards 8-6. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Raiders have posted against the Leopards since April 7, 2022.
Cody Deason made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Deason was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his three plate appearances with two RBI.
In other pitching news, Bryson Mitchell tossed a big game, pitching five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Those hits marked the first that he allowed this season.
Deason wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Tyson Lake, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4. That stolen base was Lake's first of the season. Luis Quintana was another, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Raiders
| 03/13/25 @ Hernando | 8-6 |
| 03/11/25 @ Trinity Catholic | 4-3 |
| 02/27/25 @ South Lake | 6-4 |
| 02/20/25 @ Cypress Creek | 10-2 |
| 02/13/25 @ Belleview | 7-1 |
| + 5 more games |
South Sumter pushed their record up to 8-2 with the victory, which was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.6 runs on average over those games. As for Hernando, the defeat snapped their winning streak at eight games and leaves them with a 8-3 record.
South Sumter and Hernando should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings. South Sumter (ranked 102nd) will meet Belleview (ranked 320th) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. South Sumter is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.1 runs per game this season. Similarly, Hernando will square off against Lakeland at 7:00 p.m. on Friday up 140 places (110 vs. 250).
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
