Baseball Game Preview: Chapel Hill Tigers vs. Northern Durham Knights

The Chapel Hill Tigers will venture away from home to challenge the Northern Durham Knights at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Chapel Hill gave up the first runs on Wednesday, but they didn't let that get them down. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 8-6 victory over Cary.

Chapel Hill got a great performance from Asa Foster as he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Foster has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, Chapel Hill's win was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was David Campos, who went 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI. Another was Tyler Oliaro, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one double.

Meanwhile, Northern Durham had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They walked away with a 5-1 victory over the Hornets.

Dylan Guerrette was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk). Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-3.

Chapel Hill's record is now 8-6. As for Northern Durham, their record now sits at an identical 8-6.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Chapel Hill has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Northern Durham struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.

Chapel Hill skirted past Northern Durham 4-2 in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Will the Tigers repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.