The Middleburg Broncos are taking a road trip to take on the Matanzas Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Middleburg sitting on four straight wins and Matanzas on 14.
Middleburg is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They walked away with a 5-1 victory over Milton. Five seems to be a good number for the Broncos as the team scooped up a win with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Cloey Ballinger spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered a run (which was unearned) on zero hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
Mallory Ficklin
| 05/08/25 vs Milton | 3 |
| 04/10/25 @ Columbia | 2 |
| 04/17/25 @ Ponte Vedra | 1 |
| 04/11/25 vs Baker County | 1 |
| 04/03/25 @ Wakulla | 1 |
On the hitting side, Mallory Ficklin was incredible, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one stolen base. Those three RBI gave her a new career-high. KK Hagan was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Matanzas never let their opponents score on Thursday. They had just enough and edged out Ponte Vedra 1-0.
Ponte Vedra's batters probably weren't too happy with LEAH STEVENS, who pitched a no hitter and racked up 17 Ks (she gave up a single walk).
At the plate, Matanzas' victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was AVA HENIGE, who went 1-for-2 with one double and one RBI.
Matanzas always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .520. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .520 or higher in three consecutive games.
Matanzas pushed their record up to 22-1 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Middleburg, their record now sits at 19-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Middleburg has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Matanzas struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 11.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Middleburg was able to grind out a solid win over Matanzas in their previous matchup back in May of 2021, winning 8-5. Do the Broncos have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Pirates turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
