Baseball Preview: Middle Creek Mustangs vs. Harnett Central Trojans
The Middle Creek Mustangs are on the road again on Wednesday to play the Harnett Central Trojans at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Middle Creek is headed into the matchup fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Panther Creek a 22-0 shutout on Tuesday. The team's explosion at the plate also rewarded Middle Creek with their most commanding win of the season.
Ryan Morris looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Riley Cuddy, who went 4-for-5 with a home run, five RBI, and three runs. Another player making a difference was John Lupienski, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4.
Meanwhile, Harnett Central got the win against Triton on Tuesday by a conclusive 12-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Harnett Central.
Layton Babb made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over six innings pitched. Babb was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Harnett Central got a massive performance out of Aiden Taylor, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Wesley Barefoot was another key contributor, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4.
Middle Creek has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season. As for Harnett Central, their win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 16-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Wednesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Middle Creek has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.9 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Harnett Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.9. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Middle Creek beat Harnett Central 8-4 in their previous meeting back in February. The rematch might be a little tougher for Middle Creek since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
