A feisty cat fight will be fought as King's Academy Lions take on Boca Raton Bobcats at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The last four games King's Academy has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.
King's Academy saw some tournament action on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Flanagan 5-4.
Jackson Hageman looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in seven consecutive appearances.
At the plate, King's Academy let Nolan Payne and Luke Shelhamer run wild. Payne went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and two RBI, while Shelhamer scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Dalton Needle, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Boca Raton didn't have quite enough to beat ABF Academy on Tuesday and fell 5-4.
Lucas Pereira was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over 5.1 innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Chase Crawford and Christian Olsen did some serious damage despite the final result: Crawford scored a run and stole three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Olsen went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run. Those three stolen bases gave Crawford a new career-high.
King's Academy is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. Boca Raton's loss dropped their record down to 3-14.
Boca Raton's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: King's Academy hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .358. It's a different story for Boca Raton, though, as they've only averaged .227. Will they be able to contain King's Academy's hitters?
King's Academy skirted past Boca Raton 3-1 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for King's Academy since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
