The Belleview Rattlers will take on the Vanguard Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Belleview barely beat West Port the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Belleview was the clear victors by a 13-6 margin over West Port on Friday. The Rattlers have beaten the Wolf Pack the last six times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Wolf Pack has come to flipping the script.
Ethan Gifford
| 03/07/25 @ West Port | 2 |
| 03/04/25 @ Leesburg | 2 |
| 02/18/25 vs Windermere Prep | 2 |
| 02/11/25 vs Lake Weir | 2 |
| 03/06/25 vs Dunnellon | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
Ethan Gifford and Jordan Pinkerton were a major factor no matter where they played. Throwing, Gifford pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Pinkerton didn't allow a single hit while striking out six over five innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in hits (zero). At bat, Gifford scored two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances, while Pinkerton scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Gifford has become a key player for Belleview: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-4 otherwise.
In other batting news, Katcher Streit and Gilbehert Mendoza did most of the damage at the plate: Streit scored two runs while going 1-for-3, while Mendoza scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Dylan Florio, who scored a run while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, everything went Vanguard's way against P.K. Yonge on Wednesday as Vanguard made off with a 10-3 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Knights.
Clayton ?CT? Antonucci was incredible, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in stolen bases. Nate Navarro also deserves some recognition as he got his first hits of the season.
Vanguard always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .524. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as P.K. Yonge only posted an OBP of .333.
Belleview pushed their record up to 7-4 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 8.67 hits in those games compared to only 5.25 in the others. As for Vanguard, their record is now 9-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Belleview has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Vanguard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Belleview couldn't quite finish off Vanguard in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 and fell 2-0. Can Belleview avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
