The Suncoast Chargers are taking a road trip to square off against the Mandarin Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Suncoast's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Mandarin's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
On Wednesday, Suncoast had just enough and edged out Nease 6-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Chargers.
Brady Benevides was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits (and not a single walk). That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in March of 2024. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one double.

Lee Ellis
03/06/25 @ Royal Palm Beach | 3 |
03/05/25 @ Oxbridge Academy | 3 |
02/27/25 vs Port St. Lucie | 3 |
03/26/25 @ Nease | 2 |
03/25/25 @ Tocoi Creek | 2 |
+ 5 more games |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lee Ellis, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. He has become a key player for Suncoast: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 6-7 otherwise.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Mandarin). They put the hurt on Andrew Jackson with a sharp 22-2 win on Tuesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Mustangs considering their two-run performance the matchup before.
Like Suncoast, Mandarin also got a great game from a two-way player: Aidan Dye. Throwing, Dye tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Jack Bernard pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run in nine consecutive appearances. At bat, Dye scored two runs, while Bernard scored a run while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, Randy Morillo was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. That stolen base was his first of the season. Cole Rusak was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-2.
Mandarin always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .658. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Suncoast's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-7. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 11.5 hits in those games compared to only 5.5 in the others. As for Mandarin, the win got them back to even at 9-9.