For the first time this season, Lemon Bay will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup on Friday. They will head out to square off against the Hardee Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Hardee took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Lemon Bay, who comes in off a win.
Lemon Bay barely beat Port Charlotte the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Everything went Lemon Bay's way against Port Charlotte on Tuesday as Lemon Bay made off with a 19-4 win. The Manta Rays haven't had any issues with the Pirates recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.
Reagan Altieri was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Altieri was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three doubles, four RBI, and one run.
In other batting news, Lemon Bay got a massive performance out of Taylor Jones, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3. That's the most runs Jones has posted since back in April of 2024. Cassidy Silvia was another key player, scoring three runs while going 2-for-4.
Lemon Bay always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .613. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Port Charlotte only posted an OBP of .429.
Meanwhile, Hardee was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss dating back to last season. They came up short against Fort Meade, falling 18-2.
Hardee saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kirstyn Faulkner, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Hardee's defeat dropped their record down to 0-4. As for Lemon Bay, their win (their first of the season) made their record 1-2.
Lemon Bay came up short against Hardee when the teams last played back in May of 2024, falling 8-4. Can Lemon Bay avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
