Sarasota hasn't had much luck against Venice recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Sailors will challenge the Indians at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Sarasota is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They were the clear victors by an 8-1 margin over Riverview Sarasota.
Cesar Garmendia spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up seven Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Mark Metcalf, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Venice entered their tilt with North Port on Tuesday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Bobcats a 9-0 shutout.
Sarasota is on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 17 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 20-5-1 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.5 runs over those games. As for Venice, their victory bumped their record up to 23-3.
Sarasota couldn't quite get it done against Venice in their previous matchup two weeks ago as they fell 4-0. Can the Sailors avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
