The Varela Vipers are taking a road trip to take on the Mater Academy Charter Lions at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Varela 3.8, Mater Academy Charter 4.1) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Last Monday, Varela earned an 8-4 victory over ABF Academy Homestead. The win continues a trend for the Vipers in their matchups with the Bandits: they've now won three in a row.
Juan Chacon was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-1. Armando Mendez also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Mater Academy Charter entered their tilt with South Dade on Tuesday with three consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with four. They beat the Buccaneers by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 5-4.
The team relied heavily on Bryan Aritta, who scored a run while going 3-for-3. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Yodelkis Quevedo, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Mater Academy Charter always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as South Dade only posted an OBP of .290.
Mater Academy Charter pushed their record up to 9-6 with the victory, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.4 runs on average over those games. As for Varela, their record is now 8-4-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Varela has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mater Academy Charter struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Varela skirted past Mater Academy Charter 4-2 in their previous meeting back in March of 2016. The rematch might be a little tougher for Varela since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
