The Apex Friendship Patriots will venture away from home to square off against the Heritage Huskies at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Apex Friendship is coming into the game hot, having won their last four games.
Apex Friendship had to skate by with only a one-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the eight-run drubbing they dealt Middle Creek on Thursday. Apex Friendship was the clear victors by a 9-1 margin over Middle Creek.
Maura Schwanke
| 03/13/25 @ Middle Creek | 7 |
| 03/03/25 vs Corinth Holders | 3 |
| 03/04/25 vs Garner | 2 |
| 04/18/24 vs Green Hope | 2 |
| 04/24/24 @ Orange | 1 |
Maura Schwanke spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on seven hits and racked up seven Ks. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in strikeouts.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Sydney Joyce, who went 3-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI. That home run marked the first that she launched this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Primak, who scored a run while going 3-for-5.
Apex Friendship was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Middle Creek only posted a batting average of .250.
The home team had won the previous five meetings between Heritage and Holly Springs, and Holly Springs kept the tradition alive. Heritage came up short against Holly Springs on Tuesday, falling 7-1. That's two games in a row now that the Huskies have lost by exactly six runs.
Heritage saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Janiah Vargas, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Apex Friendship pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.7 runs over those games. As for Heritage, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Apex Friendship has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Heritage struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Apex Friendship took their win against Heritage in their previous matchup back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 12-6. The rematch might be a little tougher for Apex Friendship since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
