The South Walton Seahawks will challenge the West Florida Jaguars at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with South Walton sitting on 13 straight wins and West Florida on seven.
South Walton is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. They put the hurt on Pensacola with a sharp 24-1 victory. Considering the Seahawks have won 16 matches by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Charlie Willcox looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Coleman Borthwick, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in February. Another player making a difference was Cameron Tipton-Thomas, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
South Walton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .694. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pensacola only posted an OBP of .154.
Meanwhile, West Florida got the win against Walton on Monday by a conclusive 8-1.
West Florida also got a great performance from Jordan Hosman as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over six innings pitched.
At the plate, Jayden Thomas was incredible, going 2-for-3 with three RBI and one triple. That triple marked the first that he hit this season. Adam Geiger was another key player, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
South Walton pushed their record up to 23-3 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for West Florida, their win bumped their record up to 22-3.
West Florida's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: South Walton hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .356. It's a different story for West Florida, though, as they've only averaged .239. Will they be able to contain South Walton's hitters?
Everything went South Walton's way against West Florida when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as South Walton made off with a 10-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Seahawks since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
