The Union Academy Cardinals will face off against the Pine Lake Prep Pride at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.
Union Academy is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to ten runs on Wednesday, they were much more limited against North Stanly on Friday. They took a 6-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Comets. The Cardinals haven't had much luck with the Comets recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Union Academy saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Emerson Carter, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Pine Lake Prep came tearing into Friday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Cardinals by a score of 8-3.
Riley Thomas looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four).
At the plate, Grant Ingram and Alec Brown did most of the damage at the plate: Ingram scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3, while Brown scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Pine Lake Prep was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .480. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Corvian Community only posted a batting average of .308.
Union Academy's loss dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Pine Lake Prep, their win bumped their record up to 8-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Union Academy has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pine Lake Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Union Academy might still be hurting after the 13-0 defeat they got from Pine Lake Prep in their previous matchup back in April of 2022. Will Union Academy have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
