Winter Haven and Inspiration Academy are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2018, but likely not for long. The Blue Devils will be taking part in a tournament against the Lions at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Winter Haven 2.8, Inspiration Academy 2.9) so any runs scored will be well earned.
If Winter Haven beats Inspiration Academy with five runs on Thursday, it's going to be the team's new lucky number: they've won their past two contests with that exact score. The Blue Devils beat Osceola on Wednesday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 5-4. The Blue Devils haven't had any issues with the Kowboys recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Michael Allen
| 03/18/26 vs Osceola | 7 |
| 03/09/26 @ Ridge Community | 5 |
| 02/12/26 vs Mulberry | 2 |
| 03/12/26 @ Bartow | 1 |
Michael Allen looked comfortable as he struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Josh Jenkins, who went 1-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. That home run marked the first that he has launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Najee Jiles, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Inspiration Academy got themselves on the board against Discovery on Wednesday, but Discovery never followed suit. They put the hurt on the Spartans with a sharp 7-0 win.
Inspiration Academy also got a great performance from Rylan Autman as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over six innings pitched. Autman has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Max Prejda and Sean Dromgool did most of the damage at the plate: Prejda went 3-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Dromgool went a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Ben Jameson, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Inspiration Academy hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in four consecutive games.
Inspiration Academy's victory bumped their record up to 9-5. As for Winter Haven, their win bumped their record up to 12-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Winter Haven has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Inspiration Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Winter Haven was able to grind out a solid victory over Inspiration Academy in their previous meeting back in February, winning 4-1. Do the Blue Devils have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Lions turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
