The Lake Minneola Hawks will square off against the Forest Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Lake Minneola has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with four straight losses, while Forest will come in with three straight wins.
Lake Minneola managed to slip by South Lake the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Hawks came up short against the Eagles on Thursday, falling 7-1.
Meanwhile, Forest never let their opponents score on Wednesday. They blew past DeLand 13-0. The Wildcats might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven games by eight runs or more this season.
Reagan Quinn was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. What's more, she posted three strikeouts, the most she's had since back in April of 2024. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Mahri Lingle, who scored four runs and stole three bases while going 4-for-4. Those three stolen bases gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Naomi Meyer, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two runs.
Forest kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are 7-3 when they post 11 or more hits.
Forest pushed their record up to 10-8 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Lake Minneola, they now have a losing record of 7-8.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Lake Minneola hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like Forest struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.8 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Lake Minneola skirted past Forest 7-6 when the teams last played back in February. Do the Hawks have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wildcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
