Zephyrhills extended their losing streak (dating back to last season) to five on Friday, dropping them down to 0-2. They came up short against the Lecanto Panthers, falling 15-7. The Bulldogs were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Panthers apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in May of 2023.
Colin O'Malley made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one double. Another player making a difference was Yadiel Santiago, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
As for Lecanto, their win was their fourth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 1-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.5 runs on average over those games.
On Lecanto's side, Luke Pitzer and Trey Hendrickson made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Pitzer tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Meanwhile, Hendrickson struck out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and five unearned) runs off three hits. At the plate, Pitzer went 1-for-3 with three runs and one double, while Hendrickson went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Those three hits gave Hendrickson a new career-high.
In other batting news, Caden Logue and Connor Sloane did most of the damage at the plate: Logue went 2-for-3 with five RBI and two doubles, while Sloane went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryder Pollard, who went 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
Zephyrhills has already played their next contest, an 11-1 loss against Pasco on the 17th. As for Lecanto, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next matchup, a 7-2 defeat against Cypress Creek on the 17th.
