Softball Game Preview: Eastern Wayne Warriors vs. North Johnston Panthers

The Eastern Wayne Warriors will venture away from home to face off against the North Johnston Panthers at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Eastern Wayne has six straight victories, North Johnston has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

While Eastern Wayne's win against Spring Creek wasn't quite the blowout it was the last time the pair played, they still came out on top. The Warriors had just enough and edged out the Gators 4-2. That's two games straight that the Warriors have won by exactly two runs.

Mallory Reed

Stolen Base (Career)

04/16/25 @ Spring Creek	2
03/27/25 vs North Johnston	1
03/04/25 vs Greene Central	1
04/29/24 @ Greene Central	1
04/23/24 vs Spring Creek	1

Mallory Reed made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out 17 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high.

In other batting news, Hannah Lee was excellent, going 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and one run. Nakiah Williams also deserves some recognition as she scored her first run of the season.

Meanwhile, while it was North Johnston who put the first runs on the board on Friday, it was South Central who put up more. The Panthers lost 7-1 to the Falcons.

Eastern Wayne's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-2. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for North Johnston, their loss dropped their record down to 8-6.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Eastern Wayne has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 18.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Johnston struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.