Fort Walton Beach is 1-9 against Crestview since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit in Monday's first game. The Fort Walton Beach Vikings will head out on the road to face off against the Crestview Bulldogs at 5:00 p.m. Fort Walton Beach will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Fort Walton Beach scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Friday. They put the hurt on Niceville with a sharp 12-6 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Fort Walton Beach considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
Hunter Kidd was incredible, scoring three runs while going 4-for-4. Avery Warren was another key contributor, scoring two runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Crestview was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They suffered a tough 11-0 defeat at the hands of Pensacola Catholic. Considering the last time Crestview couldn't score was back in February, the team can't take the result too hard.
Crestview also got a good showing from Andrew Dauphin, who pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also didn't allow any walks). Dauphin has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single hit in three consecutive pitching appearances.
Fort Walton Beach has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-8 record this season. As for Crestview, they now have a losing record at 9-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart in Monday's first game as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Fort Walton Beach has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Crestview struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Fort Walton Beach came out on top in a nail-biter against Crestview in their previous matchup back in March of 2023, sneaking past 5-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for Fort Walton Beach since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
