The Estero Wildcats will take on the Port Charlotte Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Estero is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They never let Dunbar get on the board and left with a 17-0 victory. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 games by seven runs or more this season.
Annika Jarvi looked comfortable as she tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Ava Weinbaum
| 04/29/25 vs Dunbar | 4 |
| 04/03/25 @ Bonita Springs | 3 |
| 03/05/24 vs South Fort Myers | 3 |
| 03/14/25 vs Port Charlotte | 2 |
| 02/25/25 vs Riverdale | 2 |
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Ava Weinbaum, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in RBI (four). Another player making a difference was Dena Peregrin, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
Estero was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .588. They are 10-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Meanwhile, Port Charlotte had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. Everything went their way against the Panthers as they made off with a 16-5 win.
Jaylin Pinedo made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up four earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with three RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Brianna Weidner was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Jacqueline Kirk was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
The victory made it two in a row for Estero and bumps their season record up to 13-11. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 21.5 runs over those games. As for Port Charlotte, their victory bumped their record up to 9-14.
Port Charlotte's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Estero has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .452. It's a different story for Port Charlotte, though, as they've only averaged .356. Will they be able to contain Estero's hitters?
Estero beat Port Charlotte 7-3 in their previous matchup back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
