The Sumner Stingrays will head out on the road to face off against the Steinbrenner Warriors at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Sumner's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They were the clear victors by a 6-0 margin over Brandon. The victory continues a trend for the Stingrays in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won four in a row.
Juan OValle
| 03/29/25 vs Blake | 2 |
| 03/13/25 vs Tampa Bay Tech | 1 |
Juan OValle looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Sumner is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 8-10 otherwise.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Sebastian Rodriguez, who scored a run while going 1-for-2. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (two).
Sumner hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post two or more strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Steinbrenner posted their closest win since April 23, 2024 on Wednesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Wesley Chapel 5-4. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Warriors.
Kelton Meares spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered four runs (all of which were unearned) on six hits and racked up six Ks.
At the plate, Mason Koumas was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Sumner's record now sits at 10-11. As for Steinbrenner, their record is now 14-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Sumner 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 Steinbrenner struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Sumner was able to grind out a solid win over Steinbrenner when the teams last played back in March of 2024, winning 4-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Stingrays since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
