The New Bern Bears will square off against the East Carteret Mariners at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (New Bern has six straight wins, East Carteret has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
New Bern barely beat Jacksonville the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. New Bern blew past Jacksonville 9-1 on Thursday. Considering the Bears have won three matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Molly McGuire was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out six batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and not a single walk). She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Madison Game, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. She also put up a double, which was her first of the season. Makenzie Richardson was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
New Bern was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .393. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .324 or higher in five consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, East Carteret fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Dixon on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 7-3 to the Bulldogs.
Like New Bern, East Carteret also got a great game from a two-way player: Amilya Lewis. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing eight innings while giving up four earned (and three unearned) runs off nine hits. Lewis was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April of 2024.
Lewis wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Mali Peck, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI. Another was Grayson Gillikin, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances.
New Bern's victory bumped their record up to 6-0. As for East Carteret, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.
East Carteret's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. New Bern has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for East Carteret, though, as they've been averaging only 3.2 strikeouts. Will New Bern keep running through batters, or will East Carteret buck the trend?
New Bern took their win against East Carteret when the teams last played back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 10-3. Does New Bern have another victory up their sleeve, or will East Carteret turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
