The Royal Palm Beach Wildcats will challenge the Suncoast Chargers at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Royal Palm Beach is coming into the match on a five-game losing streak.
Last Tuesday, Royal Palm Beach came up short against St. John Paul II Academy and fell 8-3.
Royal Palm Beach saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jorge Olivencia, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Suncoast). Their pitchers stepped up to hand Oxbridge Academy a 22-0 shutout on Wednesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Chargers considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Preston Kay made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Kay was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing Two bases. while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Suncoast let Brady Benevides and Lee Ellis run wild. Benevides went a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs, four RBI, and two doubles, while Ellis went 3-for-4 with five RBI, three runs, and one stolen base. That's the most doubles Benevides has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Colin Campbell, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Suncoast always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .660. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Oxbridge Academy only posted an OBP of .381.
Royal Palm Beach's loss dropped their record down to 4-7. As for Suncoast, their victory ended a six-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 5-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Royal Palm Beach has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Suncoast struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
