Eustis is 2-8 against Lake Minneola since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Eustis Panthers will face off against the Lake Minneola Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Eustis is coming into the match hot, having won their last three games.
On Tuesday, everything went Eustis' way against Umatilla as Eustis made off with an 8-2 victory.
Sean Griffin spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on three hits. Those hits marked the first that he allowed this season.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Couper Gatch, who fired off two home runs and five RBI while going 2-for-3. What's more, he posted two runs, the most he's had since back in February.
Eustis was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .393. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .316 or higher in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, it was a Battle of the Birds when Lake Minneola faced off against Montverde Academy on Tuesday. Lake Minneola came up short against Montverde Academy, falling 13-5. The Hawks have struggled against the Eagles recently, as the game was their sixth consecutive lost meetings.
Lake Minneola also got a good showing from Brady Montrowl, who struck out seven batters over 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Montrowl has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Chase Dougherty made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Eustis' win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-4. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.3 runs over those games. As for Lake Minneola, they suffered their first home loss, dropping their record down to 8-5.
Eustis came out on top in a nail-biter against Lake Minneola in their previous meeting back in February, sneaking past 2-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for Eustis since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
