Lake Region hasn't had much luck against Bartow recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. Lake Region will venture away from home to face off against Bartow at 7:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Lake Region has four straight victories, Bartow has six straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Thursday, Lake Region got the win against Lakeland by a conclusive 11-4. Considering the Thunder have won nine games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Lake Region got a massive performance out of Gage Calcutt, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 3-for-4. What's more, Calcutt posted three RBI, the most he's had since back in March of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Dan Colon, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Lake Region was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .441. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .379 or higher in five consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Bartow lost 13-4 to Sarasota on Friday.
Bartow saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bilal Shweil, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
The win got Lake Region back to even at 9-9. As for Bartow, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-14.
Bartow's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lake Region has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .472. It's a different story for Bartow, though, as they've only averaged .306. Will they be able to contain Lake Region's hitters?
Everything went Lake Region's way against Bartow in their previous meeting on March 4th, as Lake Region made off with a 7-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lake Region since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
