Baseball Game Preview: Fike Demons vs. Southern Wayne Saints

The Fike Demons will face off against the Southern Wayne Saints at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

Fike fell victim to East Wake and their airtight pitching crew on Tuesday. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Warriors. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Meanwhile, after low-scoring totals in their previous three contests, Southern Wayne brought some dynamite into their most recent game. They were the clear victors by a 13-6 margin over Smithfield-Selma on Tuesday. The Saints haven't had any issues with the Spartans recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.

Hayden Waller made a big impact no matter where he played. He struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off seven hits. Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was even better at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. He also put up a triple, which was his first of the season.

In other batting news, Kaeden Hinson and Austin Watson did most of the damage at the plate: Hinson went 1-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI, while Watson scored a run and stole two bases while going 3-for-3. Those four RBI gave Hinson a new career-high. Channing Grady also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

Southern Wayne's victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 3-7. As for Fike, their loss dropped their record down to an identical 3-7.

Fike came up short against Southern Wayne in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, falling 8-3. Can Fike avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.