The Palm Bay Pirates will take on the Melbourne Central Catholic Hustlers at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Palm Bay has given up an average of 7 runs per game this season, but Monday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Palm Bay is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Eau Gallie just ended the team's four-game winning streak on Thursday. They lost 14-1 to the Commodores.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Melbourne Central Catholic). They were the clear victors by a 22-1 margin over Port St. Lucie on Thursday. With that victory, the Hustlers brought their scoring average up to 7.1 runs per game.
Ryder Widick made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in February. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Melbourne Central Catholic got a massive performance out of Tanner Garza, who scored two runs while going 2-for-2. The dominant performance also gave Garza a new career-high in RBI (three). Cole Carroll was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Melbourne Central Catholic always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .703. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Palm Bay's defeat dropped their record down to 9-6. As for Melbourne Central Catholic, their win bumped their record up to 9-7.
Palm Bay skirted past Melbourne Central Catholic 3-1 when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Does Palm Bay have another victory up their sleeve, or will Melbourne Central Catholic turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
