The Gulf Buccaneers will challenge the Weeki Wachee Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Gulf is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Anclote an 18-0 shutout on Thursday. The Buccaneers haven't had any issues with the Sharks recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Jeovanna Carter made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring three runs while getting on base in two of her three plate appearances.
In other batting news, Alana Delaney and Lillian Patrias did most of the damage at the plate: Delaney went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI, while Patrias scored three runs and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-3. That home run was Delaney's first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Adeleisi Sanchez-Ponce, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Gulf always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .700. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, Weeki Wachee was not the first on the board on Tuesday, but they got there more often. They blew past Central 16-4. With that win, the Hornets brought their scoring average up to 6.6 runs per game.
Alvalyn Crisp made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching seven innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. Crisp was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-5.
In other batting news, Lilly Connell was a standout: she scored three runs and stole Two bases. while going 3-for-3. That's the most runs she has posted since back in March of 2024. Austyn Childs was another key player, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, one triple, and one run.
The victory made it two in a row for Weeki Wachee and bumps their season record up to 3-6. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Gulf, their win bumped their record up to 3-4.
Weeki Wachee's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday. Gulf has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 12.6 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Weeki Wachee, though, as they've been averaging only 2.6 strikeouts. Will Gulf keep running through batters, or will Weeki Wachee buck the trend?
Gulf suffered a grim 27-11 defeat to Weeki Wachee when the teams last played back in February of 2024. Can Gulf avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
