The Palatka Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Father Lopez Green Wave at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Palatka has three straight wins, Father Lopez has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
While Palatka's victory against Matanzas wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. Palatka had just enough and edged out Matanzas 6-5 on Friday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Panthers have posted against the Pirates since March 14, 2022.
The team relied heavily on Mason Malloy, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Paxton Sweat, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Palatka hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most three strikeouts in three consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Father Lopez suffered their closest defeat since February 26th on Monday. They fell just short of Orangewood Christian by a score of 6-4.
Father Lopez's loss dropped their record down to 4-11. As for Palatka, the victory got them back to even at 7-7.
Palatka took their win against Father Lopez in their previous meeting on Tuesday by a conclusive 9-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Palatka since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
