The Ponte Vedra Sharks will head out on the road to face off against the Tocoi Creek Toros at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Ponte Vedra's pitching crew has only allowed 3.7 runs per game this season, so Tocoi Creek's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Ponte Vedra barely beat Nease the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Sharks' pitchers stepped up to hand the Panthers a 6-0 shutout on Friday. Considering the Sharks have won seven games by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Caleb Stanton, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Carter Lang also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, Tocoi Creek started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Providence School. They fell just short of the Stallions by a score of 5-4 on Thursday.
Tocoi Creek also got a good showing from Kaleb Stockwell, who pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits.
At the plate, Tocoi Creek saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brody Eisenhuth, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI.
Ponte Vedra has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-8 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.7 runs over those games. As for Tocoi Creek, their defeat was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 15-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ponte Vedra has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Tocoi Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ponte Vedra couldn't quite get it done against Tocoi Creek in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 as they fell 6-1. Can the Sharks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
