The Suncoast Chargers will venture away from home to square off against the Royal Palm Beach Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Royal Palm Beach took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Suncoast, who comes in off a win.
Suncoast is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 22-0 margin over Oxbridge Academy on Wednesday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Preston Kay made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Kay was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing Two bases. while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high.
Brady Benevides
| 03/05/25 @ Oxbridge Academy | 4 |
| 04/04/24 vs Forest Hill | 3 |
| 03/05/24 vs Santaluces | 3 |
| 04/18/24 vs Treasure Coast | 2 |
| 04/16/24 vs Oxbridge Academy | 2 |
In other batting news, Brady Benevides and Lee Ellis did most of the damage at the plate: Benevides went a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs, four RBI, and two doubles, while Ellis went 3-for-4 with five RBI, three runs, and one stolen base. The dominant performance gave Benevides a new career-high in hits. The team also got some help courtesy of Colin Campbell, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Suncoast always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .660. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Oxbridge Academy only posted an OBP of .381.
Meanwhile, Royal Palm Beach was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They fell 8-3 to St. John Paul II Academy.
Royal Palm Beach saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jorge Olivencia, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Royal Palm Beach's defeat dropped their record down to 4-7. As for Suncoast, their win ended a six-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 5-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Suncoast has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Royal Palm Beach struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Suncoast skirted past Royal Palm Beach 6-5 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Suncoast since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
