Baseball Game Preview: Croatan Cougars vs. Jacksonville Cardinals

The Croatan Cougars will face off against the Jacksonville Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Croatan took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They had just enough and edged out New Bern 12-11. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Cougars considering their one-run performance the matchup before.

Weston Thomas was incredible, going 2-for-4 with two triples, four RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Jacob Woody, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Jacksonville hadn't done well against West Craven recently (they were 0-8 in their previous eight matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Jacksonville blew past West Craven 9-1.

Ryan Yates made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Yates was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kaiden Cox, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stole at least one in each of the last three games he's played dating back to last season. Vasco Sutton was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.

The win got Croatan back to even at 1-1. As for Jacksonville, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 1-1.

Everything went Croatan's way against Jacksonville in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, as Croatan made off with a 14-5 win. Will Croatan repeat their success, or does Jacksonville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.