The Manatee Hurricanes will face off against the Alcoa Tornadoes at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Manatee will roll into the contest after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run on Friday, then bounced right back against Bayshore on Saturday. The Hurricanes put the hurt on the Bruins with a sharp 12-1 win. The Hurricanes haven't had any issues with the Bruins recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive victory against them.
The team relied heavily on Ashton Hovda, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in March. Another player making a difference was Payton Harlan, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Hovda wasn't the only one making solid contact: Manatee kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in five consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Alcoa got themselves on the board against Eagleton College & Career Academy on Tuesday, but Eagleton College & Career Academy never followed suit. They blew past the Royals 10-0. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tornadoes.
Josh Simpson tossed a big game, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits over five innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single hit in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Aden Orrick and Bleau Kennedy did most of the damage at the plate: Orrick scored two runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-4, while Kennedy scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2. The team also got some help courtesy of Miles Watson, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Alcoa's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-4. Those road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for Manatee, their win bumped their record up to 14-8.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Manatee has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5.3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Alcoa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
