Bay is 2-8 against Arnold since February of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Bay Tornadoes will face off against the Arnold Marlins at 6:30 p.m. Bay will be strutting in after a victory while Arnold will be coming in after a defeat.
Bay took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Fort Walton Beach a 4-0 shutout. While the Tornadoes didn't have the best season last year (they finished 11-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Grayson Gibson looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Bay saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Johnathan Corona, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2. Nick Fuentes also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Meanwhile, after soaring to ten runs the game before, Arnold was a bit more limited in their game on Thursday. They fell just short of Bozeman by a score of 4-2. The contest marked the Marlins' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Cooper Moss put in work no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only a hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Moss was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base and one double.
Bay pushed their record up to 5-2 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs over those games. As for Arnold, their loss dropped their record down to 5-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Bay has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Arnold struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Bay couldn't quite finish off Arnold in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can Bay avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
