The Saint Stephen's Episcopal Falcons will take on the Bradenton Christian Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Saint Stephen's Episcopal will aim to continue their four-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.
Saint Stephen's Episcopal is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Sarasota Christian an 11-0 shutout. The win continues a trend for the Falcons in their matchups with the Blazers: they've now won five in a row.
Abbie Eanet was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Eanet was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, four RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in March of 2024.
In other batting news, Rylan Goar was a standout: she got on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs and one double. Another player making a difference was Alcie Despard, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI and one double.
Saint Stephen's Episcopal hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are 4-1 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Bradenton Christian had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. Everything went their way against the BlueJackets as they made off with a 15-0 victory. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Sofia Puccia was incredible, going 1-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Stanley, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with three runs and one double.
Bradenton Christian pushed their record up to 7-10 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.3 runs over those games. As for Saint Stephen's Episcopal, the win got them back to even at 8-8.
Saint Stephen's Episcopal suffered a grim 8-1 defeat to Bradenton Christian when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Falcons avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
