The Apex Cougars will head out on the road to square off against the Willow Spring Storm at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
Apex easily dispatched Franklinton on Wednesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Cougars fell just short of Broughton by a score of 10-8 on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Cougars have suffered since March 23rd.
Apex got a good showing from SIMON BRUTISKY, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. BRUTISKY has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, BROOKS KLINGEMANN made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. KYLE HULSE was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double.
Meanwhile, it may have taken ten innings to finish the job, but Willow Spring ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Jordan 10-8. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Storm considering their one-run performance the game before.
Andrew Petrakis looked comfortable as he tossed 3.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
On the hitting side, Bryce Marsh was a standout: he got on base in three of his six plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Willow Spring's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is undefeated (and 6-15 when he doesn't). Nate Rice also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
With the victory, Willow Spring broke their four-game losing streak and moved their record to 9-15. As for Apex, their loss dropped their record down to 7-12.
Apex came out on top in a nail-biter against Willow Spring when the teams last played back in March, sneaking past 9-8. Do the Cougars have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Storm turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
