The North Port Bobcats will challenge the Port Charlotte Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
North Port's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They were the clear victor by a 29-0 margin over The Classical Academy of Sarasota. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bobcats.
Wes Stines made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Stines was even better at the plate, going a perfect4-for-4 with six RBI, four runs, and two stolen bases.
Cian Stephens
| 02/12/25 vs The Classical Academy of Sarasota | 3 |
| 02/20/24 @ Bayshore | 2 |
| 04/29/24 @ Sarasota | 1 |
| 04/23/24 @ Cardinal Mooney | 1 |
| 04/17/24 @ Charlotte | 1 |
In other batting news, North Port let Landon Davidson and Cian Stephens loose on the outfield. Davidson went a perfect3-for-3 with three runs, four RBI, and two doubles, while Stephens went a perfect3-for-3 with three runs, three RBI, and one triple. The dominant performance gave Stephens a new career-high in runs. Kayden Davidson was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Port Charlotte gave their fans exactly what they wanted out of a home opener on Tuesday. They blew past Cypress Lake 9-2. The Pirates haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.
Like North Port, Port Charlotte also got a great game from a two-way player: Reed Backstrom. On the mound, Backstrom pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Jasper Davis didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out eight over 4.2 innings pitched. At bat, Backstrom scored a run while going 2-for-3, while Davis scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Farias Donovan, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Brock Budreau, who scored a run while going 1-for-2.
