Baseball Game Preview: East Lincoln Mustangs vs. Rockingham County Cougars

The East Lincoln Mustangs will take on the Rockingham County Cougars on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

East Lincoln is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out North Henderson 5-4. Winning may never get old, but the Mustangs sure are getting used to it with their fifth in a row.

Meanwhile, it may have taken ten innings to finish the job, but Rockingham County ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Kings Mountain 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Cougars have posted since May 7, 2024.

Nick Rumbley made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with one double and one RBI. That's the most hits he has posted since back in March of 2024.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Hudson Deel, who went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Brady Ross, who went 1-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

Rockingham County pushed their record up to 24-2 with the win, which was their 14th straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for East Lincoln, their record is now 19-6.