It was a good run, but Clearwater unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Thursday. They fell victim to a tough 6-0 defeat at the hands of the Countryside Cougars. Clearwater was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Countryside apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in April of 2023.
Even though they lost, Clearwater didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with ten strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Countryside only tossed four.
For Countryside's part, Ian Strickland spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just zero earned runs on three hits. Strickland has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Countryside let Trent King and Jake Nevins loose on the outfield. King scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Nevins scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Robert Fredericks, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
Clearwater now has a losing record at 9-10. As for Countryside, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-8 record this season.
Clearwater will head out on the road to take on East Lake at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. East Lake is coming into the match with seven straight wins at home, so Clearwater will have to stop a team with plenty of momentum. Countryside will take on Palm Harbor University at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Palm Harbor University's pitching crew has only allowed 1.7 runs per game this season, so Countryside's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
