The Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders will face off against the Tampa Prep Terrapins at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Clearwater Central Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. They were the clear victors by a 14-4 margin over Bell Creek Academy. The Marauders' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Clearwater Central Catholic got a great performance from Zach Wheeler as he pitched 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off six hits.
Ivan Lopez- Cruz
| 04/14/25 vs Bell Creek Academy | 2 |
| 03/27/25 @ Cardinal Mooney | 1 |
| 03/18/25 vs Northeast | 1 |
| 02/11/25 vs Clearwater | 1 |
At the plate, Ivan Lopez- Cruz was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. Philip Skorewicz also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Clearwater Central Catholic kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Meanwhile, Tampa Prep came tearing into Wednesday's game with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.8 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They never let the Red Raiders get on the board and left with a 5-0 win.
Liam Akins was excellent, scoring a run while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Derek Stiglich, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Tampa Prep pushed their record up to 14-10 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Clearwater Central Catholic, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-16.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clearwater Central Catholic has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Tampa Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
