The Cypress Bay Lightning will challenge the Fort Lauderdale Flying L at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
If Cypress Bay beats Fort Lauderdale with five runs on Monday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two games with that exact score. Cypress Bay had just enough and edged out ABF Academy 5-3. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Lightning.
Gabriel Tovar looked comfortable as he pitched 2.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Santiago Sanchez, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Fort Lauderdale hadn't done well against McArthur recently (they were 0-5 in their previous five matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Fort Lauderdale came out on top against McArthur by a score of 6-1.
Jackson Hirsch spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up ten Ks. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in February.
At the plate, Nathaniel Greene was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. Those two hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jake DelNegri, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Fort Lauderdale's win bumped their record up to 4-7-1. As for Cypress Bay, they now have a winning record of 7-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Cypress Bay has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Fort Lauderdale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Cypress Bay took their victory against Fort Lauderdale in their previous matchup back in February of 2017 by a conclusive 11-1. Will Cypress Bay repeat their success, or does Fort Lauderdale have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.