The Palatka Panthers will challenge the Matanzas Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Palatka will be strutting in after a win while Matanzas will be coming in after a loss.
Palatka's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They were the clear victor by an 8-0 margin over Menendez. Considering the Panthers have won five matches by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
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. That's the most stolen bases Thomas has posted since back in February. 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.
Meanwhile, Matanzas was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They fell 9-4 to Flagler Palm Coast.
Nick Pandich made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while going 3-for-4. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Wiley Connor, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
The victory made it two in a row for Palatka and bumps their season record up to 6-7. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs on average over those games. As for Matanzas, their loss dropped their record down to 1-12.
Everything went Palatka's way against Matanzas when the teams last played back in February, as Palatka made off with a 6-0 win. Will Palatka repeat their success, or does Matanzas have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
