Pinellas Park had lost nine straight at home, but on Wednesday they dropped down to 1-16 to make it ten. They fell 7-4 to the IMG Academy Blue Ascenders. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Patriots of the 8-5 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in March of 2023.
As for IMG Academy Blue, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.5 runs over those games.
For IMG Academy Blue's part, they got a great performance from Carsen Mansour as he tossed six innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Mansour has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Fletcher King was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of IMG Academy Blue's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 4-6 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Eli Bayer, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Looking ahead, Pinellas Park will head out on the road to face off against Tarpon Springs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Spongers have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed seven runs per game on average), something the Patriots will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for IMG Academy Blue, they will be playing at home against Sunshine State Elite Academy at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
