The Fernandina Beach Pirates are taking a road trip to take on the Tocoi Creek Toros at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Fernandina Beach will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.
Fernandina Beach is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Benedictine with a sharp 15-0 win on Friday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded the Pirates with their most commanding win of the season.
Trace Farmer was a major factor no matter where he played. He kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three RBI.
In other batting news, Fernandina Beach got a massive performance out of Tanner Jones, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. What's more, Jones posted three RBI, the most he's had since back in February. Eli Salyer was another key player, scoring three runs while going 2-for-2.
Fernandina Beach was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .381. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Tocoi Creek didn't have quite enough to beat Ponte Vedra on Tuesday and fell 2-1. The contest marked the Toros' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Tocoi Creek also got a good showing from Carter Lawrence, who pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.
At the plate, Tocoi Creek saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Micha Hernandez, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base.
Tocoi Creek dropped their record down to 15-7 with the loss, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Fernandina Beach, their victory ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 16-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Fernandina Beach has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Tocoi Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Fernandina Beach came up short against Tocoi Creek when the teams last played back in April of 2024, falling 13-8. Can the Pirates avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
