The Seabreeze Sandcrabs will venture away from home to square off against the New Smyrna Beach Barracudas at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Seabreeze has given up an average of 9.4 runs per game this season, but Tuesday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Seabreeze is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Crescent City with a sharp 29-14 victory on Monday. The result was nothing new for the Sandcrabs, who have now won 11 games by six runs or more so far this season.
Kyra McLin was incredible, getting on base in all five of her plate appearances with three stolen bases, four runs, and four RBI. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 2.1 runs per game. Caylee Little was another key player, scoring five runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in five of her six plate appearances.
Seabreeze always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .609. They are a perfect 11-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, New Smyrna Beach was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their tenth straight defeat. They came up short against Flagler Palm Coast, falling 11-1. That's two games in a row now that the Barracudas have lost by exactly ten runs.
Valerie Hausknedht made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-1.
Seabreeze is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 17.9 runs over those games. As for New Smyrna Beach, their loss dropped their record down to 1-10.
New Smyrna Beach's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Seabreeze hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .351. It's a different story for New Smyrna Beach, though, as they've only averaged .162. Will they be able to contain Seabreeze's hitters?
Seabreeze couldn't quite finish off New Smyrna Beach when the teams last played back in February and fell 11-9. Can the Sandcrabs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
