Baseball Game Preview: Palatka Panthers vs. Crescent City Raiders

Palatka is a perfect 10-0 against Crescent City since March of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Panthers will take on the Raiders in a tournament on Thursday. Palatka will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.

Palatka saw some tournament action on Tuesday. They blew past Peniel Baptist Academy 17-1. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won nine contests by six runs or more so far this season.

Tristin Bahena looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.

Luke Oberman

Runs

03/31/25 @ Hawthorne	3
04/01/25 vs Peniel Baptist Academy	2
03/25/25 vs Eastside	2
03/11/25 vs Father Lopez	2
03/04/25 vs Williston	2
+ 5 more games

At the plate, Palatka let Luke Oberman and Jacob Gaskin run wild. Oberman went a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base, while Gaskin scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2. Oberman is becoming a predictor of Palatka's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 6-1 (and 6-7 when he doesn't). Cason Thomas was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.

Palatka always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .655. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.

Meanwhile, after soaring to ten runs the game before, Crescent City was a bit more limited in their match on Tuesday. They lost 12-2 to Interlachen. The Raiders haven't had much luck with the Rams recently, as the team has come up short the last eight times they've met.

Palatka pushed their record up to 12-8 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Crescent City, their loss dropped their record down to 3-13.

Palatka beat Crescent City 9-5 in their previous matchup back in February of 2023. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Raiders turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.