The Lemon Bay Manta Rays are taking a road trip to square off against the Riverview Sarasota Rams at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Lemon Bay sitting on three straight victories and Riverview Sarasota on 12.
Lemon Bay gave up the first runs on Friday, but they didn't let that get them down. They walked away with a 6-3 win over North Port.
Reagan Altieri spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on five hits.
On the hitting side, Taylor Jones was excellent, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3. Mattie Couture was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Riverview Sarasota got themselves on the board against Charlotte on Thursday, but Charlotte never followed suit. They were the clear victors by a 6-0 margin over the Fightin' Tarpons. Considering the Rams have won five matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
The result came thanks to Allison Cole's shutout, as she gave up just five hits and racked up 13 Ks. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in 11 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Makenzie Carcifero, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high. Hayden Maniglia also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Riverview Sarasota hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Charlotte struck out 13 times.
Riverview Sarasota's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-0. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.2 runs over those games. As for Lemon Bay, the victory got them back to even at 5-5.
Lemon Bay couldn't quite get it done against Riverview Sarasota in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 as they fell 6-1. Can Lemon Bay avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
