The Escambia Gators will face off against the Choctawhatchee Indians at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Escambia is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Booker T. Washington with a sharp 9-2 victory. The win was nothing new for the Gators as they're now sitting on nine straight.
Parker Zareck
| 04/15/25 vs Booker T. Washington | 10 |
| 03/25/25 vs Northview | 9 |
| 02/27/25 vs Booker T. Washington | 5 |
| 04/01/25 @ Navarre | 4 |
| 03/18/25 @ Milton | 2 |
Escambia got a great performance from Parker Zareck as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out ten over six innings pitched. Those ten strikeouts gave Zareck a new career-high.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Clayton Sanders, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Christian Stone, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-4.
Escambia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .300 or higher in 11 consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, while Choctawhatchee put up plenty of runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for Fort Walton Beach. The Indians were the clear victors by a 13-0 margin over the Vikings. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Indians considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Carson Appleton tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Choctawhatchee is undefeated when he allows at most one earned run, but 10-11 otherwise.
At the plate, Aaron Rowell was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. He has become a key player for Choctawhatchee: the team is 8-3 when he posts at least two runs, but 7-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Jordan Figueroa, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Choctawhatchee has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-11 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games. As for Escambia, their win bumped their record up to 20-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Escambia has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Choctawhatchee struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Escambia came out on top in a nail-biter against Choctawhatchee in their previous matchup back in March, sneaking past 9-8. Will the Gators repeat their success, or do the Indians have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
