The University Cougars will be playing in front of their home fans against the Ocoee Knights at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The pair are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
University had to endure a three-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They never let Lake Buena Vista onto the board and left with a 13-0 victory on Wednesday. The high-scoring effort was just what University needed considering they were shutout in their previous match.
The team relied heavily on Andrew Solovjov, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs, and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Lucas Livingston, who scored a run while going 2-for-2.
Ocoee never got on the board in their matchup on Wednesday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Freedom last Friday. Everything went their way against the Patriots as they made off with an 11-3 win.
Brandon Smith looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run but no hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Angel Martinez, who went 2-for-4 with five RBI, two runs, and a triple. Max Lucien was another key contributor, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
University's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 7-7-1. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs per game. As for Ocoee, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 10-9 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. University has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Ocoee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
University came out on top in a nail-biter against Ocoee in their previous matchup back in March, sneaking past 3-2. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Ocoee's Trenton Nice, who pitched 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will University still be able to contain Nice? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
