The Lafayette Hornets will head out to face off against the Williston Red Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are strolling into their matches after big wins in their previous games.
Williston will be up against a hot Lafayette team: the squad just extended their winning streak to four. Lafayette was the clear victors by a 13-1 margin over Chiefland on Tuesday. With that win, the Hornets brought their scoring average up to 7.4 runs per game.
Hyatt Richardson
| 02/25/25 vs Chiefland | 0 |
| 02/18/25 vs Madison County | 2 |
| 02/11/25 vs Suwannee | 1 |
Hyatt Richardson was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out nine batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, firing off two home runs and five RBI while going 3-for-3. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in home runs.
In other pitching news, Gavin Barnes looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
Back at the plate, Trevor Byrd was incredible, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Garrett Taylor was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-2.
Lafayette always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .552. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Williston, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Bell a 9-0 shutout on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Red Devils, who have now won five games by nine runs or more so far this season.
The result came thanks to Anthony Gardea's shutout, as he gave up just three hits and racked up six Ks. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single walk, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024.
At the plate, Blake Martin was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Loock, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Williston's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Lafayette, their win bumped their record up to 4-1.
Lafayette came out on top in a nail-biter against Williston in their previous meeting back in May of 2017, sneaking past 3-1. Will Lafayette repeat their success, or does Williston have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
