Baseball Preview: Croatan Cougars vs. Richlands Wildcats
After three games on the road, Croatan is heading back home. They will take on the Richlands Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Croatan will be hoping to continue their four-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
In what's become a running theme this season, Croatan gave their fans yet another huge win on Tuesday. They blew past Topsail 10-2.
Broderyk Miller made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out nine batters over 6.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Miller has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in six consecutive pitching appearances. Miller was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, a triple, and a run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Liam McFadden, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Easton Taylor, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Richlands was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fourth straight loss. They wound up on the wrong side of a rough 8-0 walloping at the hands of Dixon. The game marked that first time this year in which Richlands was not able to get on the board.
Croatan is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. As for Richlands, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-11.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Croatan has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Richlands struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.3. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Croatan's way against Richlands when the teams last played back in May of 2023 as Croatan made off with a 13-1 victory. Will Croatan repeat their success, or does Richlands have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
