St. Cloud and Lake Nona are an even 4-4 against one another since February of 2015, but likely not for long. The St. Cloud Bulldogs will take on the Lake Nona Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
St. Cloud barely beat Osceola the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. St. Cloud's pitcher stepped up to hand Osceola a 12-0 shutout on Friday. The Bulldogs haven't had any issues with the Kowboys recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Logan King
| 02/28/25 vs Osceola | 9 |
| 02/20/25 @ Harmony | 7 |
| 03/06/24 vs Cypress Creek | 7 |
| 04/30/24 vs Melbourne | 5 |
| 03/01/24 vs University | 4 |
St. Cloud got a great performance from Logan King as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. The dominant performance gave King a new career-high in strikeouts.
At the plate, Drew Kelley was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Sammy Echeverry also deserves some recognition as he launched his first home run of the season.
St. Cloud always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .567. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Osceola only posted an OBP of .158.
Meanwhile, Lake Nona made easy work of Horizon on Monday and carried off a 9-2 victory. Considering the Lions have won four matchups by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Tanner Pielock tossed a big game, tossing six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. What's more, he gave up only two walks, the fewest he's had over his last five contests.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Leonardo Suarez, who went 2-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. Another player making a difference was Angel Santana, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and two RBI.
St. Cloud's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-2. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 9 runs. As for Lake Nona, their record now sits at 9-3.
Lake Nona's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: St. Cloud hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .333. It's a different story for Lake Nona, though, as they've only averaged .252. Will they be able to contain St. Cloud's hitters?
St. Cloud skirted past Lake Nona 8-7 when the teams last played back in March of 2021. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Cloud since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
