The Bonita Springs Bullsharks will challenge the Southwest Eagles at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Bonita Springs took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Estero, sneaking past 4-2.
Harrison Kalina looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances.
Derek Hernandez Jr
| 03/12/25 @ McArthur | 4 |
| 04/03/25 vs Estero | 2 |
| 03/27/25 vs Naples | 2 |
| 03/06/25 vs Cape Coral | 2 |
| 02/28/25 vs Lehigh | 2 |
| + 7 more games |
At the plate, Bonita Springs saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Derek Hernandez Jr, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. Hernandez Jr is becoming a predictor of the Bullsharks' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 7-8 when he doesn't). Another was Jacob Estrada, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Southwest entered their tilt with Riverdale on Friday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They skirted past the Raiders 4-2.
Adrison Rodriguez looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Max Rico, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That triple marked the first that he hit this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Albert Bell, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Southwest was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. The last time their batting average was this high was back in April of 2024.
Bonita Springs pushed their record up to 13-8 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Southwest, their victory bumped their record up to 13-6.
