Baseball Game Preview: IMG Academy Gray Ascenders vs. Barron Collier Cougars

The IMG Academy Gray Ascenders will head out on the road to square off against the Barron Collier Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Barron Collier took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on IMG Academy Gray, who comes in off a win.

IMG Academy Gray took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Badin 8-6.

Yonghoon Lee

Hits (Career)

04/04/25 vs Badin	3
04/03/25 @ Lakeland	2
03/28/25 vs Charlotte	2
03/11/25 vs Eustis	2
04/01/25 vs Barron Collier	1

The team relied heavily on Yonghoon Lee, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Those three hits gave him a new career-high. Austin Smith was another key player, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Barron Collier fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Island Coast on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Gators by a score of 4-3. The Cougars have struggled against the Gators recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost meeting.

Barron Collier saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Alan Overmyer, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.

IMG Academy Gray pushed their record up to 14-8 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Barron Collier, their defeat dropped their record down to 16-6.

IMG Academy Gray took their win against Barron Collier in their previous matchup on Tuesday by a conclusive 11-3 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Ascenders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.