The Gainesville Hurricanes will head out on the road to square off against the West Port Wolf Pack at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Gainesville will be strutting in after a win while West Port will be coming in after a loss.
After only one run in their last game, Gainesville made sure to put some runs up on the board against Eastside on Thursday. Gainesville blew past Eastside 12-2. That ten run margin sets a new team best for Gainesville this season.
Billy Holdsworth looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits. Chris Eckhardt picked up the save, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also didn't allow any walks).
At the plate, Gainesville got a massive performance out of Broc Tucker, who scored two runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Jackson Dugan was another key contributor, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Meanwhile, West Port lost a heartbreaker to Dunnellon when they met back in April of 2023, and they left with a heavy heart again on Thursday. West Port's tough 14-4 defeat to Dunnellon might stick with them for a while. West Port has struggled against Dunnellon recently, as their match on Thursday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Ricardo Soto made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBI, and a run.
Gainesville's victory ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 6-8. As for West Port, their loss dropped their record down to 3-12.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Gainesville has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like West Port struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Gainesville took their win against West Port in their previous meeting back in February by a conclusive 12-3. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was West Port's Felix Fraticelli, who scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Gainesville still be able to contain Fraticelli? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
