Lakewood Ranch entered their tilt with Manatee with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 6-4 win over the Manatee Hurricanes on Friday. This was payback for Lakewood Ranch, who suffered a 6-4 loss the last time these two teams met.
Lakewood Ranch got a great performance from Alex Vailliancourt as he struck out six batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off eight hits (and only one walk). Vailliancourt has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Ryan Kaitz was incredible, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Andrew Schroeder was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
On Manatee's side, Diego Garcia-Gill made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored three runs while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Ashton Hovda, who went 3-for-4 with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI.
Lakewood Ranch is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 9-6-1 record this season. As for Manatee, they dropped their record down to 13-5 with that defeat, which was their third straight on the road.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Lakewood Ranch will stay at home for another game and welcome Out-of-Door Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Lakewood Ranch is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season. As for Manatee, they will look to defend their home field on Tuesday against Cardinal Mooney at 7:00 p.m.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
