Baseball Game Preview: Dwyer Panthers vs. Spanish River Sharks

The Dwyer Panthers will square off against the Spanish River Sharks at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

Spanish River will be up against a hot Dwyer squad: the team just extended their winning streak to five. Dwyer came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 9-8 W against Calvary Christian Academy. That's two games straight that the Panthers have won by just one run.

Dwyer let Max Abrams and Colten Stephens run wild. Abrams scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Stephens scored two runs while going 2-for-4. That's the most runs Stephens has posted since back in February. Trenton Rodriguez also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Spanish River, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past Coral Springs Charter 10-8. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Sharks considering their one-run performance the game before.

Dylan Werblow looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Spanish River is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 7-9 otherwise.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Shane Price, who scored two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Spanish River's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 7-9 when he doesn't). Jesse Chimenti was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.

Spanish River kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post 11 or more hits.

Spanish River has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-9 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. Dwyer's victory bumped their record up to 9-6.

Dwyer took their win against Spanish River in their previous meeting back in April of 2016 by a conclusive 12-2. Will Dwyer repeat their success, or does Spanish River has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.