Vanguard is on a seven-game streak of home wins, while Belleview is on a three-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Vanguard Knights will welcome the Belleview Rattlers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
On Wednesday, everything went Vanguard's way against P.K. Yonge as Vanguard made off with a 10-3 victory.
Clayton ?CT? Antonucci
| 03/12/25 @ P.K. Yonge | 2 |
| 03/04/25 vs West Port | 1 |
| 02/26/25 vs Williston | 1 |
| 02/21/25 @ West Port | 1 |
The team relied heavily on Clayton ?CT? Antonucci, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Gavin Aiton, who scored three runs and stole Three bases. while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Vanguard always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .524. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as P.K. Yonge only posted an OBP of .333.
Meanwhile, Belleview got the win against West Port on Friday by a conclusive 13-6. The Rattlers haven't had any issues with the Wolf Pack recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive win against them.
Ethan Gifford and Jordan Pinkerton made a big impact while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Gifford pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Pinkerton didn't allow a single hit while striking out six over five innings pitched. He also allowed no hits, which is notable because Belleview is undefeated when he allows at most three hits, but 3-4 otherwise. At bat, Gifford scored two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances, while Pinkerton scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Katcher Streit and Gilbehert Mendoza did most of the damage at the plate: Streit scored two runs while going 1-for-3, while Mendoza scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances. Dylan Florio was another key player, scoring a run while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Belleview's victory bumped their record up to 7-4. As for Vanguard, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 9-3.
Vanguard's speedy runners might be the difference in Thursday's matchup. Vanguard has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Belleview, though, as they've been averaging only 0.8 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Vanguard continue to outrun the ball?
Vanguard skirted past Belleview 2-0 in their previous meeting back in May of 2024. Will Vanguard repeat their success, or does Belleview have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
