The Island Coast Gators will take on the Evangelical Christian Sentinels at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Island Coast's favor as the squad sits on four straight wins at home while Evangelical Christian has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road.
Last Tuesday, it was close, but Island Coast sidestepped Riverview Sarasota for a 6-5 win. That's two games straight that the Gators have won by just one run.
Hunter Fretwell looked comfortable as he pitched 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in 12 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Jayven Torres and Logan Hawkins did most of the damage at the plate: Torres scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Hawkins scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. What's more, Hawkins posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in March. Grady Schwiezer was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Island Coast kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Evangelical Christian got themselves on the board against Babcock on Tuesday, but Babcock never followed suit. They put the hurt on the Trailblazers with a sharp 11-0 victory. The Sentinels not only won on Tuesday, but they posted their biggest win since March 7th.
Boston Gibbs looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Evangelical Christian is 3-1 when Gibbs allows one or fewer hits, but 8-12 otherwise.
On the hitting side, Evangelical Christian got a massive performance out of Harlan Haugen, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two triples, three RBI, and two runs. Haugen has become a key player for the Sentinels: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least three RBI, but 9-12 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Slater Smith, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3.
Island Coast is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-6 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Evangelical Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 11-13.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Island Coast has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Evangelical Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 2.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Island Coast skirted past Evangelical Christian 5-4 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will the Gators repeat their success, or do the Sentinels have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
