The St. Cloud Bulldogs will take on the Apopka Blue Darters at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (St. Cloud 3.5, Apopka 3.4) so any runs scored will be well earned.
St. Cloud's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They were the clear victors by an 11-0 margin over Poinciana. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 11 contests by nine runs or more this season.
Jack Ewalt
| 04/09/25 @ Poinciana | 0 |
| 04/02/25 vs Gateway | 1 |
| 03/27/25 @ Davenport | 1 |
| 03/17/25 vs Varsity Opponent | 1 |
| 03/04/25 @ Lake Nona | 1 |
| + 2 more games |
Jack Ewalt looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Sebastian Echeverry, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024.
St. Cloud always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .541. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Poinciana only posted an OBP of .240.
Meanwhile, Apopka came up short against Horizon on Wednesday and fell 8-5.
Apopka saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Wyatt Jaggers, who scored a run while going 3-for-3. Another was Ty Livingston, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
St. Cloud is on a roll lately: they've won ten of their last 12 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-6 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Apopka, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Cloud has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Apopka struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Cloud couldn't quite get it done against Apopka when the teams last played back in March as they fell 6-3. Will the Bulldogs have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
