By Special to the Lake Okeechobee News
• The Moore Haven Terriers will be facing the Glades Day Gators for the second time in the same number of weeks. Moore Haven ran away in the first game against the Gators on March 27, winning 9-0. Garrett Palladino led the Terriers with three hits and RBIs, while Evan Navarro controlled things on the mound, allowing only three hits and striking out 11. The Terriers will be attempting to bounce back from a 6-0 loss against Southwest Florida Christian on March 29 in which they could only muster four hits total. Moore Haven will travel to face Glades Day at 4 p.m. on April 2.
• The Glades Day Gators, however, will be looking for some payback against the Terriers, and it appears they’ll have some momentum at their back. After falling to Moore Haven on March 27, the Gators went on to face the Atlantic Christian Sharks on April 1. Glades Day came away with a double-digit shutout victory against the Sharks, winning 14-0. The win snapped what had been a six-game losing streak for the Gators. Baseball can be a game of streaks, both good and bad, so perhaps the Gators are entering a good streak right as Moore Haven comes to town on April 2.
• The Pahokee Blue Devils’ struggles continued this year. The program has won only two games in the past three years, and 2019 started with three back-to-back, double-digit losses. The Blue Devils meet the 8-2 Palm Beach Central Broncos in Pahokee at 4 p.m. on April 9.
• In contrast to Pahokee, the Glades Central Raiders appear to be on the brink of turning around their long-suffering baseball program thanks to the efforts of their head coach Rene Leon. The Raiders beat the Glades Day Gators for the first time in school history earlier this year and have wins against Lake Worth and Palm Beach Lakes. The Raiders will host the Clewiston Tigers at 7 p.m. on April 5.
• Before the Clewiston Tigers make the short trip to face Glades Central they’ll be hosting the Westwood Panthers at 5 p.m. on April 3. Westwood got the better of Clewiston in their previous match-up on March 29. Clewiston junior Gabe Gibson led the Tigers with two hits and two RBIs, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Panthers who went on to win 5-3. The Tigers did win their previous game against Glades Central, a 12-2 blowout on March 7. Gibson led the Tigers in RBIs in that game as well with four.
• Of all the baseball teams around the lake, the Okeechobee Brahmans make the most compelling case as the best of the bunch. The team is coming off a playoff run that saw them make it to the regional final, one game away from the state championship tournament, and has been one of the only lake area baseball teams with a consistent track record of success. The Brahmans are scheduled to travel to face the Jensen Beach Falcons at 7 p.m. on April 5.