The Hamilton County Trojans will be playing at home against the St. John Paul II Panthers at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Last Tuesday, Hamilton County suffered a rough 15-6 loss at the hands of Aucilla Christian.
Gabriel Garcia made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last six times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Grant Selph, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI.
Even though they lost, Hamilton County always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. That's the best OBP they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, St. John Paul II put the finishing touches on their fourth blowout victory of the season on Wednesday. They never let FAMU DRS onto the board and left with a 15-0 victory. The win was nothing new for St. John Paul II as they're now sitting on three straight.
Peyton Latimer was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 1-for-2. He continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Evan Bopp was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Hamilton County dropped their record down to 1-8 with that defeat, which was their fifth straight on the road. As for St. John Paul II, their victory bumped their record up to 6-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hamilton County has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like St. John Paul II struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 per game. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Hamilton County came up short against St. John Paul II when the teams last played on March 1st, falling 11-6. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of St. John Paul II's Jason Cantella, who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over five innings pitched. Now that Hamilton County knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
