The Florence Gophers are taking a road trip to face off against the Blue Ridge Yellow Jackets at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
As a matter of fact, Florence put up the most runs they have all season on Wednesday. They blew past Coolidge 28-3. The win was familiar territory for the Gophers, who have now won four matchups in a row.
Ryin Leopoldino
| 04/23/25 @ Coolidge | 3 |
| 04/10/25 @ Combs | 2 |
| 03/24/25 vs Empire | 2 |
| 04/22/24 @ San Tan Foothills | 2 |
| 04/05/24 vs Globe | 2 |
The team relied heavily on Ryin Leopoldino, who got on base in all six of his plate appearances with one home run, eight RBI, and three runs. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in hits (three). Tanner Gammons was another key player, getting on base in five of his six plate appearances with five runs, three RBI, and one double.
Florence always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .679. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Blue Ridge got the win against Winslow on Tuesday by a conclusive 11-1. The Yellow Jackets might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won ten games by seven runs or more this season.
Hunter Krause made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one double. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.
In other batting news, Karson Rosenthal was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Cooper Phillips, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with four runs and one stolen base.
Florence's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-6-2. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games. As for Blue Ridge, their record now sits at 14-6.
Everything went Florence's way against Blue Ridge in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, as Florence made off with a 10-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Gophers since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
