Baseball Game Preview: McKeel Academy Wildcats vs. IMG Academy Royal Ascenders

The McKeel Academy Wildcats will venture away from home to square off against the IMG Academy Royal Ascenders at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (McKeel Academy: 3.6, IMG Academy Royal: 3.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.

McKeel Academy is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Berkeley Prep just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They fell 7-4 to the Buccaneers.

Kaden Howell

Batters Struck Out

02/28/25 @ Berkeley Prep	10
02/21/25 @ Lake Gibson	12
02/13/25 vs Lakeland	12

Kaden Howell spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and six unearned) runs on six hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than ten strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.

At the plate, McKeel Academy saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Aedan Tompkins, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Carter Rouse also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Meanwhile, IMG Academy Royal entered their tilt with Carrollwood Day on Tuesday with three consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with four. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 4-3 W against the Patriots. While the Ascenders didn't have the best season last year (they finished 9-15), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.

IMG Academy Royal also got a great performance from Zach Brauer as he pitched five innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits.

On the hitting side, Kanta Miyabe was a standout: he scored two runs and stole Two bases. Another player making a difference was Jaxson Vassallo, who went 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI.

IMG Academy Royal pushed their record up to 6-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.8 runs on average over those games. As for McKeel Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-3.