Lemon Bay and North Port are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2018, but likely not for long. The Manta Rays will welcome the Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Lemon Bay is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Southeast get on the board and left with a 22-0 victory on Tuesday. The Manta Rays haven't had any issues with the Seminoles recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Certayn Legg made a splash no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (four). She was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Kylie Jones
| 04/01/25 @ Southeast | 4 |
| 02/25/25 vs Port Charlotte | 3 |
| 03/25/25 vs DeSoto County | 2 |
| 02/28/25 @ Hardee | 2 |
| 04/02/24 @ Southeast | 2 |
In other batting news, Kylie Jones was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4. Those four runs gave her a new career-high. Taylor Jones was another key player, scoring four runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
Lemon Bay kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 22 hits. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, North Port got the win against Lehigh on Tuesday by a conclusive 17-1.
Like Lemon Bay, North Port also got a great game from a two-way player: Payson Rumley. On the mound, she tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. That hit marked the first that Rumley allowed this season. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-1.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cailinne Kelly, who fired off two home runs, six RBI, and one double while going 3-for-3. Another player making a difference was Emma Baskins, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.
North Port's victory bumped their record up to 5-6. As for Lemon Bay, the win got them back to even at 6-6.
Thursday's match will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Lemon Bay hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .350. However, it's not like North Port struggles in that department as they've averaged .330. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Lemon Bay was able to grind out a solid victory over North Port in their previous matchup on Friday, winning 6-3. Will the Manta Rays repeat their success, or do the Bobcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
