The Space Coast Vipers will head out to take on the Merritt Island Christian Cougars at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Space Coast took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They never let Cocoa get on the board and left with a 17-0 victory. The win continues a trend for the Vipers in their matchups with the Tigers: they've now won three in a row.
EJ Clouser made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Clouser was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 2-for-2. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two).
Matthew Constantino
| 02/21/25 vs Cocoa | 2 |
| 02/18/25 @ Heritage | 1 |
| 02/14/25 vs Merritt Island Christian | 1 |
| 02/13/25 vs Melbourne Central Catholic | 1 |
| 04/29/24 @ Cocoa | 1 |
In other batting news, Matthew Constantino was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (two). Jacob Leos was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2.
Space Coast always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .581. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Merritt Island Christian got the win against Calvary Chapel Academy on Tuesday by a conclusive 14-0.
Like Space Coast, Merritt Island Christian also got a great game from a two-way player: Jayvon Morris. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out ten over five innings pitched. Morris was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Merritt Island Christian let Maddux Martinson and Bode Handwork run wild. Martinson scored three runs while going 1-for-3, while Handwork scored three runs while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Logan Storevik, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Merritt Island Christian pushed their record up to 1-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Space Coast, the win got them back to even at 3-3.
Space Coast beat Merritt Island Christian 5-1 in their previous matchup last Friday. The rematch might be a little tougher for Space Coast since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
