There's no place like home for Gulf Coast, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Thursday. They had just enough and edged the Canterbury Cougars out 4-3. That's more bragging rights for Gulf Coast, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.
Gulf Coast got a great performance from Evan Garcia as he struck out 11 batters over 5.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off seven hits (and not a single walk). Garcia has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Gulf Coast's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Vincent Mattei, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
On Canterbury's side, they got a good showing from Ashby Piatt, who pitched four innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Evan Taveras was cooking despite his team's loss, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Gulf Coast pushed their record up to 10-5 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.6 runs per game. As for Canterbury, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 9-6.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Gulf Coast will take on Naples at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Naples: 2.4, Gulf Coast: 4) so any runs scored will be well earned. As for Canterbury, they will head out on the road to face off against West Broward at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. West Broward will roll in looking for their seventh straight win, something Canterbury surely won't give up without a fight.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
