North Lenoir is a perfect 6-0 against Wallace-Rose Hill since March of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The North Lenoir Hawks will square off against the Wallace-Rose Hill Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Having struggled with three defeats in a row, North Lenoir turned things around against Southwest Onslow on Friday. They put the hurt on the Stallions with a sharp 7-1 win.
Garrett Byrd
| 03/14/25 vs Southwest Onslow | 16 |
| 04/19/24 @ Southwest Onslow | 11 |
| 03/26/24 vs East Duplin | 9 |
| 04/26/24 @ South Lenoir | 8 |
| 03/13/24 vs Nash Central | 7 |
Garrett Byrd was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 16 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run and three RBI.
In other batting news, Ethan Smith was excellent, scoring two runs while going 2-for-2. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season.
North Lenoir was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. That's the best batting average they've posted all season.
Wallace-Rose Hill not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since March 26, 2024. They never let James Kenan get on the board and left with a 7-0 victory. The Bulldogs have beaten the Tigers the last three times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Tigers has come to flipping the script.
Reese Buckner was a standout: he scored three runs and stole Two bases. while going 1-for-3. Wallace-Rose Hill is 2-1 when Buckner posts two or more runs, but 0-4 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Kaiden Liu, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
The win got North Lenoir back to even at 3-3. As for Wallace-Rose Hill, their record is now 2-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Lenoir has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Wallace-Rose Hill struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went North Lenoir's way against Wallace-Rose Hill when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as North Lenoir made off with a 9-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Lenoir since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
