The Matanzas Pirates are taking a road trip to face off against the Palatka Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Matanzas is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak.
On Thursday, Matanzas came up short against Flagler Palm Coast and fell 9-4.
Nick Pandich was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 3-for-4. He also put up a double, which was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Wiley Connor, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Meanwhile, Palatka never let their opponents score on Wednesday. They blew past Menendez 8-0. The Panthers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by six runs or more this season.
The result came thanks to Luke Oberman's shutout, as he gave up just two hits and racked up six Ks. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Palatka let Cason Thomas and Mason Malloy run wild. Thomas scored three runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances, while Malloy went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Thomas is becoming a predictor of Palatka's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 4-1 (and 2-6 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Paxton Sweat, who scored two runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
The victory made it two in a row for Palatka and bumps their season record up to 6-7. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 8.5 runs. As for Matanzas, their loss dropped their record down to 1-12.
Matanzas suffered a grim 6-0 defeat to Palatka in their previous matchup back in February. Can Matanzas avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
