Matanzas has enjoyed the comforts of home their last four games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Palatka Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Matanzas never got on the board in their matchup last Friday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Mainland last Thursday. They walked away with an 11-6 win over the Buccaneers. The high-scoring performance was a welcome turnaround for Matanzas' hitters, who had struggled in the games prior.
The team relied heavily on Wiley Conner, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Alonso Quintana, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Palatka proved they can win big on Friday (they won by seven) but on Monday they proved they can win the close ones too. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Father Lopez and snuck past 5-3.
Landen Echols spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and two unearned) runs on four hits.
On the hitting side, Tanner Ortiz was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last four games he's played. Paxton Sweat was another key contributor, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Matanzas' victory ended a five-game drought at home and bumped them up to 7-9. As for Palatka, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-11 record this season.
Matanzas beat Palatka 7-3 in their previous matchup back in February. The rematch might be a little tougher for Matanzas since the squad 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
