A feisty cat fight will be fought as Mater Academy Charter Lions face off against Pembroke Pines Charter Jaguars at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Mater Academy Charter 4.1, Pembroke Pines Charter 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Mater Academy Charter's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Monday's struggle, when Hialeah Educational Academy hitters got past them. Mater Academy Charter skirted past Hialeah Educational Academy 11-10. 11 seems to be a good number for the Lions as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Adrian Pena looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Mater Academy Charter is undefeated when he allows at most one walk, but 4-6 otherwise.
Bryan Aritta
| 03/10/25 vs Hialeah Educational Academy | 5 |
| 03/07/25 vs Killian | 3 |
| 03/04/25 vs iMater Charter | 2 |
| 02/27/25 vs Archbishop McCarthy | 2 |
| 02/18/25 vs Hialeah Gardens | 2 |
At the plate, Bryan Aritta was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and one double. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in RBI. Jonathan Esponda was another key player, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.
Mater Academy Charter kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.1 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 games they've averaged 9.6.
Meanwhile, Pembroke Pines Charter fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Coral Springs on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Colts by a score of 6-5.
Dean Jaworski was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out nine batters over 5.1 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off three hits.
On the hitting side, Justin Probst and Eric Molina did some serious damage despite the final result: Probst went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Molina got on base in all five of his plate appearances with one RBI. Another player making a difference was Brady Mongera, who scored three runs while going 1-for-4.
Mater Academy Charter has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.0 runs over those games. Pembroke Pines Charter's loss dropped their record down to 6-5-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mater Academy Charter has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pembroke Pines Charter struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Mater Academy Charter beat Pembroke Pines Charter 10-7 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Does Mater Academy Charter have another victory up their sleeve, or will Pembroke Pines Charter turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
