Gulf is 0-3 against Pasco since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Gulf Buccaneers will head out on the road to challenge the Pasco Pirates at 7:00 p.m. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Monday, Gulf was able to grind out a solid victory over Admiral Farragut, taking the game 4-1. The win was just what Gulf needed coming off of a 12-0 defeat in their prior contest.
Rowan Graziano spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jaidon Sopjack, who went 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Monday Pasco sidestepped Kathleen for a 2-1 victory. The win was just what Pasco needed coming off of an 11-1 loss in their prior matchup.
Pasco also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Jayce Rollins gave up one run (which was unearned) on two hits and racked up ten Ks.
On the hitting side, Pasco's victory was truly a team effort as two different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Boomer Newton, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
The win got Gulf back to even at 8-8. As for Pasco, they pushed their record up to 13-5 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Gulf has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pasco struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Gulf might still be hurting after the 12-1 defeat they got from Pasco when the teams last played back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Pasco's Noah Durden, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Now that Gulf knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
