The Manatee Hurricanes will challenge the East Lake Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Manatee is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.1 runs per game this season.
Manatee easily dispatched St. Petersburg on Thursday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Hurricanes fell just short of Lakewood Ranch by a score of 9-7 on Monday.
Jenna Caldwell was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. That home run was her first of the season. Mercedes VanTassel was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, East Lake had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.7 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They were the clear victors by a 9-3 margin over the Wolves. Considering the Eagles have won 12 matchups by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Lucy Mondok made a splash no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in ten consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Meagan Bostak, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. That's the most hits she has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Abigail Mitchell, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
East Lake's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 15-4. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Manatee, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-13.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Tuesday. Manatee hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like East Lake struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.7 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Manatee suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to East Lake in their previous meeting back in May of 2018. Will the Hurricanes have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
