The Villages Charter has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Lecanto Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The Villages Charter's pitching crew has only allowed 3.9 runs per game this season, so Lecanto's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
On Friday, everything went The Villages Charter's way against South Lake as The Villages Charter made off with an 8-2 win.
Nathan Budill tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Joe Killpatrick and Lincoln Gagne did most of the damage at the plate: Killpatrick went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, while Gagne scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Marcello Cortale, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Lecanto can finally bid farewell to their three-game losing streak thanks to their game on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Crystal River and snuck past 3-1.
Nick Sloane spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up seven Ks.
At the plate, Lecanto's victory was truly a team effort as two different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Vinny Cappuccilli, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
The Villages Charter's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-9. As for Lecanto, their record now sits at 8-13.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. The Villages Charter has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Lecanto struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went The Villages Charter's way against Lecanto when the teams last played on April 4th as The Villages Charter made off with a 12-6 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for The Villages Charter since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
