Dixie County is 8-2 against Saint Francis Catholic since March of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Bears will square off against the Wolves at 4:30 p.m. Dixie County is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7 runs per game this season.
Dixie County easily dispatched P.K. Yonge on Friday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Bears fell just short of Chiefland by a score of 8-6 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Bears have suffered against the Indians since February 23, 2021.
Joel Lord
| 04/10/25 vs Chiefland | 3 |
| 04/04/25 vs P.K. Yonge | 3 |
| 03/28/25 vs Bell | 3 |
| 03/25/25 vs Fort White | 2 |
| 03/21/25 vs Lafayette | 2 |
| + 3 more games |
Joel Lord was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. Dixie County is 2-1 when Lord posts three or more RBI, but 5-12 otherwise. Jaheim Taylor was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Saint Francis Catholic came tearing into Thursday's contest with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.3 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Warriors 17-5. Considering the Wolves have won 11 matchups by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Liam Green looked comfortable as he tossed 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.
On the hitting side, Saint Francis Catholic got a massive performance out of Andy Janelle, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Gabe Long also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Saint Francis Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in four consecutive games.
Saint Francis Catholic's victory was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-6. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Dixie County, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-13.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Dixie County has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.8 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Saint Francis Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 5.5 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Dixie County came up short against Saint Francis Catholic when the teams last played back in March, falling 9-4. Can the Bears avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
