The Gulf Breeze Dolphins are taking a road trip to challenge the West Florida Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Gulf Breeze comes in on three and West Florida on seven.
On Thursday, Gulf Breeze had just enough and edged out South Walton 4-3. That's two games straight that the Dolphins have won by just one run.
Ky Cook looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.
On the hitting side, Jake Hooten was incredible, going 2-for-3 with one home run and one double. Javier Mercado also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, West Florida was able to grind out a solid victory over Navarre on Wednesday, taking the game 4-1.
West Florida's win was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Dax Robbins, who scored two runs while going 1-for-4. Those two runs gave Robbins a new career-high. Owen Morgan was another, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
West Florida's victory was their 13th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.1 runs over those games. As for Gulf Breeze, their record is now 4-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Gulf Breeze has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like West Florida struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Gulf Breeze took their win against West Florida in their previous matchup back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 7-0. Will Gulf Breeze repeat their success, or does West Florida have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
