Palmetto Ridge is 2-8 against Naples since March of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Palmetto Ridge Bears will be playing in front of their home fans against the Naples Golden Eagles at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Palmetto Ridge can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent match on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Lely with a sharp 15-2 win. The victory was just what Palmetto Ridge needed coming off of an 11-1 loss in their prior matchup.
The team relied heavily on Kayla Nazco, who scored three runs while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Teagan Delashmet, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, Naples entered their tilt with Aubrey Rogers with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They came out on top against the Patriots by a score of 5-1 on Tuesday.
Tara Watkins made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off eight hits. Watkins was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more stolen bases the last three times she's played.
In other batting news, Mackenzie Leiti was incredible, going 2-for-3 with a home run, five RBI, and a double.
Palmetto Ridge's win bumped their record up to 7-5. As for Naples, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 5-6 record this season.
Palmetto Ridge was able to grind out a solid victory over Naples in their previous meeting back in February, winning 7-2. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Watkins, who struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and five unearned) runs off 11 hits (and only one walk). Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Palmetto Ridge still be able to contain Watkins? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
