The Lemon Bay Manta Rays will face off against the Hardee Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Lemon Bay is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8 runs per game this season.
Lemon Bay will roll into the matchup after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up one run last Thursday, then bounced right back against Manatee on Monday. The Manta Rays were the clear victors by an 18-7 margin over the Hurricanes. The Manta Rays might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five games by seven runs or more this season.
Reagan Altieri was a major factor no matter where she played. She tossed seven innings while giving up three earned (and four unearned) runs off eight hits. Altieri was also big at the plate, scoring four runs while going 2-for-4. Those four runs gave her a new career-high.
Taylor Jones
| 04/07/25 @ Manatee | 4 |
| 04/03/25 vs North Port | 1 |
| 04/01/25 @ Southeast | 3 |
| 03/31/25 @ Riverview Sarasota | 1 |
| 03/28/25 @ North Port | 3 |
| + 6 more games |
In other batting news, Taylor Jones was incredible, going 4-for-5 with seven RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most hits she has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Kara Jones, who scored four runs while going 3-for-3.
Lemon Bay always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .560. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Hardee didn't have quite enough to beat DeSoto County on Thursday and fell 4-3. The Wildcats have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Sugar Blas made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. Kirstyn Faulkner was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one triple and one run.
Hardee's defeat dropped their record down to 4-11. As for Lemon Bay, the victory got them back to even at 7-7.
Hardee's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Lemon Bay has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.9 hits per game. It's a different story for Hardee, though, as they've been averaging 9.3 hits. Given Lemon Bay's sizable advantage in that area, the Wildcats will need to find a way to close that gap.
Lemon Bay took their win against Hardee in their previous matchup back in February by a conclusive 11-4 score. Will the Manta Rays repeat their success, or do the Wildcats have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
