Clearwater is 1-9 against East Lake since April of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Tornadoes will host the Eagles at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Clearwater's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They were the clear victors by a 12-0 margin over Zephyrhills. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Tornadoes considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Jacob Howard looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three).
Jackson King
| 03/31/25 @ Zephyrhills | 4 |
| 03/26/25 vs Hollins | 2 |
| 03/11/25 @ Palm Harbor University | 2 |
| 03/07/25 @ Lakewood | 2 |
| 03/24/25 @ Dunedin | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jackson King, who scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. George Tzorbatzoglou was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.
Clearwater always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .525. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Zephyrhills only posted an OBP of .125.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for East Lake, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. Everything went their way against Anclote on Tuesday as they made off with a 14-5 victory.
Dane Wright looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Camden Boehm was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That home run was his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Sheffield, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4.
Clearwater has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for East Lake, they pushed their record up to 13-6 with the victory, which was their third straight at home.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Clearwater has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like East Lake struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Clearwater might still be hurting after the 13-1 defeat they got from East Lake when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Will the Tornadoes have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
