The Palatka Panthers will venture away from home to face off against the Menendez Falcons at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Palatka will be strutting in after a win while Menendez will be coming in after a defeat.
Palatka's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They were the clear victor by a 10-0 margin over Orange Park. The Panthers' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Paxton Sweat made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over six innings pitched. Sweat was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Cason Thomas was excellent, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4. Tanner Akers also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Palatka was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Saturday just wasn't the day for Menendez's offense. They fell 4-0 to Lincoln on Saturday. The Falcons have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Menendez saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was AJ Grueser, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base.
Palatka's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-3. As for Menendez, they now have a losing record of 1-2.
Palatka couldn't quite finish off Menendez when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can Palatka avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps