The North Fort Myers Red Knights will head out on the road to square off against the IMG Academy Gold Ascenders at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. North Fort Myers has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the contest with four, while IMG Academy Gold will come in with three straight victories.
On Tuesday, it was a hard-fought match, but North Fort Myers had to settle for a 6-4 defeat against Community School of Naples.
North Fort Myers got a good showing from Derek Hooker, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Hooker has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Aiden Estrada made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Matthew Blasena was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, IMG Academy Gold stacked a fifth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They blew past Cambridge Christian 10-0.
Kunimatsu Nishihara tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Nate Lynn was a standout: he went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Another player making a difference was Ethan Stipp, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
North Fort Myers' loss dropped their record down to 5-9. As for IMG Academy Gold, their win bumped their record up to 9-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Fort Myers has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like IMG Academy Gold struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
