The Beachside Barracudas will face off against the Menendez Falcons at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Beachside's hittershaven't had much luck over their past five contests, but Thursday's matchup will give them a chance to turn things around.
Beachside's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They won by a run and slipped past St. Joseph Academy 1-0.
Beachside got a great performance from Alex Gwaltney as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out seven over six innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts Gwaltney has posted since back in February of 2024.
Gavin Nickel
| 02/25/25 vs St. Joseph Academy | 2 |
| 02/21/25 vs Tocoi Creek | 1 |
| 02/12/25 vs First Coast | 1 |
| 05/07/24 vs Columbia | 1 |
| 05/02/24 vs Ponte Vedra | 1 |
On the hitting side, Beachside's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Gavin Nickel, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4. Those two stolen bases gave Nickel a new career-high. Zack Gwaltney also deserves some recognition as he stole his first stolen base of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Menendez). Everything went their way against Matanzas on Tuesday as Menendez made off with a 9-3 victory. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Falcons have posted since March 8, 2024.
Brooks Cornelison made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Cornelison was also big at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and two RBI.
In other pitching news, Phillip McLaughlin looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
Back at the plate, AJ Grueser was excellent, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2. Another player making a difference was Reeve Power, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Beachside's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-6. As for Menendez, their win bumped their record up to 2-3.
Beachside was able to grind out a solid victory over Menendez in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, winning 5-2. Will Beachside repeat their success, or does Menendez have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
