Baseball Game Preview: North Johnston Panthers vs. Fike Demons

The North Johnston Panthers will venture away from home to face off against the Fike Demons at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. North Johnston will be strutting in after a win while Fike will be coming in after a loss.

While North Johnston's victory against Franklin Academy wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. North Johnston won by a run and slipped past Franklin Academy 4-3. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Patriots recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.

Maurice Love was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one double. The team also got some help courtesy of Seth Scott, who scored a run and stole Two bases.

Meanwhile, Fike was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat dating back to last season. They took a 6-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of North Johnston.

Fike saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was CJ Summerlin, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.

Fike's loss dropped their record down to 0-4. As for North Johnston, they now have a winning record of 2-1.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Johnston has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Fike struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

North Johnston beat Fike 6-1 in their previous meeting on Monday. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Johnston since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.