The Winter Haven Blue Devils will face off against the Mulberry Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a four-game winning streak alive.
Winter Haven's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They came out on top against Auburndale by a score of 4-0.
John Kostuch tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only a hit over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned runs in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Winter Haven saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Vincent Miller, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. Lucas Jimenez also deserves some recognition as he hit his first hit of the season.
Meanwhile, Mulberry hadn't done well against Lakeland recently (they were 0-5 in their previous five matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Mulberry sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-6 victory over Lakeland.
Mulberry also got a great performance from Griffin Cline as he struck out ten batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits.
On the hitting side, Mulberry let AJ Medina and Dominick Gotauco run wild. Medina scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Gotauco scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Cole Bedenbaugh, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Mulberry always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .543. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lakeland only posted an OBP of .267.
Mulberry's win bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Winter Haven, their victory bumped their record up to 4-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Winter Haven has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mulberry struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Winter Haven came out on top in a nail-biter against Mulberry in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. Will Winter Haven repeat their success, or does Mulberry have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.