The Belleview Rattlers will challenge the Mainland Buccaneers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Belleview took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They won by a run and slipped past Matanzas 3-2.
Belleview saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Shea Young, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Mainland got the win against Orlando Christian Prep on Friday by a conclusive 12-1. The Buccaneers haven't had any issues with the Warriors recently, as the game was their third consecutive victory against them.
Jordan Payne made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in February. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Mainland let Helmut Waters and Ryan Allen run wild. Waters went 2-for-3 with one home run and four RBI, while Allen scored three runs and stole four bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances. Allen has become a key player for Mainland: the team is 8-2 when he posts at least two runs, but 1-6 otherwise. Angelo Carollo was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Mainland always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .548. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Mainland's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-8. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.7 runs over those games. As for Belleview, they now have a winning record of 12-11.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
