Baseball Game Preview: Croatan Cougars vs. Richlands Wildcats

Croatan is 8-2 against Richlands since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. A feisty cat fight will be fought as Croatan Cougars challenge Richlands Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Friday, Croatan made easy work of Dixon and carried off an 11-2 victory. The Cougars haven't had any issues with the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Harrison Thomas made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed six innings while giving up just two earned runs off six hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. That's the most runs he has posted since back in May of 2024.

Jacob Woody

Runs Batted In (Career)

03/28/25 vs Dixon	3
04/16/24 vs White Oak	2
03/25/25 vs West Carteret	1
03/22/25 vs Wake County HomeSchool	1
03/21/25 vs White Oak	1

In other batting news, Jacob Woody was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (three). Nathan Griffin was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, Richlands was not the first on the board on Friday, but they got there more often. They walked away with a 7-2 victory over White Oak. That five run margin sets a new team best for the Wildcats this season.

Jaden Goins and Lucas Roberts did most of the damage at the plate: Goins scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Roberts scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Goins also hit a double, marking his first of the season.

Richlands' win was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 5-5. As for Croatan, their record is now 5-3.

Everything went Croatan's way against Richlands in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, as Croatan made off with a 13-1 victory. Does Croatan have another victory up their sleeve, or will Richlands turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.