The Pasco Pirates will challenge the Weeki Wachee Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Pasco 1.1, Weeki Wachee 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Pasco is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They put the hurt on Lake Gibson with a sharp 11-1 victory on Wednesday. With that win, the Pirates brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Carson Wheatley made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Wheatley was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one home run. That home run was his first of the season.
Bryce Mangiaracina
| 03/12/25 vs Lake Gibson | 3 |
| 03/06/25 vs Gulf | 1 |
| 02/18/25 vs Land O' Lakes | 1 |
| 02/13/25 vs Hudson | 1 |
In other batting news, Pasco let Boomer Newton and Bryce Mangiaracina run wild. Newton went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs, while Mangiaracina went 2-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. The dominant performance gave Mangiaracina a new career-high in RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Yeceil 'JJ' Lisojo, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Pasco hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lake Gibson struck out ten times.
Meanwhile, Weeki Wachee hadn't done well against Land O' Lakes recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. Weeki Wachee came out on top against Land O' Lakes by a score of 6-3. That looming 6-3 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Hornets yet this season.
JD Sammons spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on nine hits. He has become a key player for Weeki Wachee: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 4-5 otherwise.
At the plate, Weeki Wachee's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Jack Strong, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4. Another was Jayden Allen, who scored a run.
The win (which was Pasco's third in a row) raised their record to 7-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Weeki Wachee, the victory got them back to even at 6-6.
Weeki Wachee's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Pasco has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .435. It's a different story for Weeki Wachee, though, as they've only averaged .268. Will they be able to contain Pasco's hitters?
Pasco couldn't quite finish off Weeki Wachee in their previous meeting two weeks ago and fell 2-0. Will Pasco have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
