The Northern Durham Knights are taking a road trip to square off against the Wake Forest Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Northern Durham's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They came out on top against Falls Lake by a score of 5-0. The win was some much needed relief for the Knights as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
The team relied heavily on Mason Wilkins, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while going 3-for-4. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March of 2024. Tanner Freeman also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.
Northern Durham was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .379. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Falls Lake only posted a batting average of .125.
Meanwhile, Wake Forest put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with an 8-4 victory over Seaforth.
Wake Forest also got a great performance from Carson Crider as he struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. Crider has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Kellen Rogers was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Ian Williams, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Wake Forest's win was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Northern Durham, their record now sits at 2-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Northern Durham has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Wake Forest struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Northern Durham suffered a grim 12-0 defeat to Wake Forest when the teams last played on Tuesday. Can Northern Durham avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
