St. Petersburg and Lakewood squared off in a matinee showdown from Gibbs High School, where the Green Devils have played their home games this season. While "home field" is usually an advantage, St. Pete was 0-6 when playing at Gibbs or Huggins-Stengel field this season, the two locations they call home.
That wasn't the only sign that their matchup with Lakewood wouldn't be easy. Their opponents were a high-power, run-scoring offense. The Spartans are third in the state with 12 home runs and have scored eight or more runs in seven games this season.
For Lakewood this game presented an opportunity to break their streak of eight straight losses to St. Pete dating back to 2008.
Lakewood started the season strong, going 6-1 with a +34 run differential through the first seven games. Then they lost their star Bo Bichette. After Bichette's injury they were 2-6 with a -14 run differential. Not that the Spartans are without talent, but they lost their momentum without Bo. Donovan Pink moved to SS in his absence and has been phenomenal. He's hitting over .600 with 5 home runs and 20 RBI on the season. So Lakewood had plenty of reasons to feel confident going into Tuesday's game.
Then St. Pete's Starting Pitcher, Dillon "Teddy" Richardson, did something only one team has done all season long, he shut out the Spartans 8-0. Through six innings Richardson struck out five batters, and allowed eight baserunners in a winning effort. His confidence was on display throughout the game, most notably in his final inning as he worked himself out of a bases-loaded jam. Nick Fleury came in and closed the door for the Green Devils and Teddy took home the Bright House Sports Network Player of the Game.
St. Pete's offense did more than enough to support their pitcher on the day. DH Dylan Mlotkowski went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI and Catcher David Rieth was 4-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
Lakewood falls to 8-8 on the season, while St. Pete moves to 6-8.
Click on the link for a complete recap from analysts Ryan Bass and Doug Waechter.