The Riverview Sarasota Rams are on the road again on Friday to play the IMG Academy Royal Ascenders at 4:30 p.m. Riverview Sarasota's pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so IMG Academy Royal's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Riverview Sarasota can't be too worried about heading out to take on IMG Academy Royal: they just beat South Fort Myers at home, who had been dominant on their own field up to that point. Everything went Riverview Sarasota's way against South Fort Myers on Thursday as Riverview Sarasota made off with a 10-3 victory. That looming 10-3 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Riverview Sarasota yet this season.
Caden Sladek looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Alastair Simonson, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Cooper Backman, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, IMG Academy Royal suffered a tough 9-3 defeat at the hands of Port Charlotte on Wednesday.
IMG Academy Royal saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Scott Yang, who went 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Riverview Sarasota's win ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 10-12. As for IMG Academy Royal, they dropped their record down to 8-13 with that loss, which was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Riverview Sarasota has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like IMG Academy Royal struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
