The Sunlake Seahawks will face off against the Pasco Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Sunlake 3.2, Pasco 2.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Pasco will be up against a hot Sunlake team: the squad just extended their winning streak to five. The Seahawks came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 3-2 W against Springstead.
Wyatt Dion
Wyatt Dion tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out ten over six innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Sunlake is 7-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 5-7 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Sunlake saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Zander Moore, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Pasco won against Central on Thursday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Monday. The Pirates never let Wiregrass Ranch get on the board and left with a 10-0 win. Considering the Pirates have won nine matchups by more than six runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Jayce Rollins made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out 14 over seven innings pitched. He has been consistent : he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in eight consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with one RBI.
In other batting news, Pasco let Boomer Newton and Carson Wheatley run wild. Newton went 4-for-5 with four runs, three doubles, and one RBI, while Wheatley went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most hits Wheatley has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Bryce Mangiaracina, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Pasco was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .424. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Wiregrass Ranch only posted a batting average of .083.
Sunlake's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-8. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Pasco, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 11-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Sunlake has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pasco struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Sunlake suffered a grim 6-0 defeat to Pasco in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Seahawks have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
