North Fort Myers is 2-8 against Island Coast since April of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Red Knights will be playing in front of their home fans against the Gators at 7:00 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (North Fort Myers 3.9, Island Coast 2.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Tuesday, North Fort Myers was able to grind out a solid victory over Riverdale, taking the game 9-6. The Red Knights haven't had any issues with the Raiders recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Junior Tome made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed five innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. Tome was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one triple and two RBI. That triple was his first of the season.
Matthew Blasena
| 02/19/25 vs Cape Coral | 3 |
| 02/18/25 vs Riverdale | 3 |
| 04/01/25 vs Riverdale | 2 |
| 03/25/25 @ Lehigh | 2 |
| 03/20/25 @ North Port | 2 |
| + 7 more games |
Tome wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Matthew Blasena, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Blasena is becoming a predictor of North Fort Myers' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 6-7 when he doesn't). Another was Karter Long, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
Meanwhile, Island Coast won against Miami Beach on Thursday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Friday. The Gators were the clear victors by a 10-2 margin over Port Charlotte. The result was nothing new for the Gators, who have now won ten matches by six runs or more so far this season.
Isaac Lopez was incredible, going 3-for-4 with five RBI, two doubles, and one triple. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in February. Logan Hawkins was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double.
Island Coast kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Port Charlotte only managed six hits.
Island Coast has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That lines up perfectly with their 15-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games. As for North Fort Myers, their win bumped their record up to 11-7.
North Fort Myers came out on top in a nail-biter against Island Coast in their previous matchup back in February, sneaking past 3-2. Will the Red Knights repeat their success, or do the Gators have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
