Baseball Recap: IMG Academy Black Picks Up 16th Consecutive Win

Ascenders

Previous Games

03/07/25 @ Carrollwood Day	9-1
03/05/25 vs Hollins	15-5
03/03/25 @ Gulf Coast	17-2
02/28/25 @ Sunlake	9-1
02/25/25 vs Sunshine State Elite Academy	7-3
+ 11 more games

IMG Academy Black put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past the Carrollwood Day Patriots 9-1. The result was nothing new for the Ascenders, who have now won six contests by eight runs or more so far this season.

IMG Academy Black got a great performance from Arnie Wu as he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. Wu has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks any time he's pitched this season.

On the hitting side, Juan Diaz and Frankie Thomas did most of the damage at the plate: Diaz scored three runs and stole a base while going 4-for-5, while Thomas went 3-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Diaz also put up a home run, which was his first of the season. Charlie Messina was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI.

IMG Academy Black was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .472. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .382 or higher in four consecutive matches.

IMG Academy Black's win was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Carrollwood Day, their loss dropped their record down to 6-4.

IMG Academy Black and Carrollwood Day should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings. IMG Academy Black will face off against Northside Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday up 153 places (3 vs. 156). The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (IMG Academy Black 2.8, Carrollwood Day 3.1) so any runs scored will be well earned. Meanwhile, Carrollwood Day (ranked 113th) will meet Clearwater Central Catholic (ranked 389th) at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. IMG Academy Black is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10.2 runs per game this season.