The Apex Friendship Patriots will venture away from home to square off against the Tuscola Mountaineers at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Apex Friendship sitting on six straight wins and Tuscola on nine.
Apex Friendship proved they can win big on Thursday (they won by ten) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Green Hope, sneaking past 7-5.
Tyler Komorner
| 03/28/25 vs Green Hope | 7 |
| 02/28/25 @ Pinecrest | 6 |
| 03/13/25 vs Middle Creek | 3 |
| 02/24/25 vs Leesville Road | 3 |
| 03/07/25 @ Holly Springs | 2 |
Tyler Komorner looked comfortable as he struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run but no hits. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
At the plate, Apex Friendship got a massive performance out of Braden Bloom, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Bloom also hit a triple, marking his first of the season. Connor Payne was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.
Meanwhile, Tuscola earned a 6-1 victory over Pisgah on Tuesday.
Amos Rich made a big impact no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 19 over seven innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base.
Rich wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Tyler Williams, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Another was Kolt Nelson, who scored a run while going 1-for-5.
Tuscola's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-2. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.5 runs over those games. As for Apex Friendship, their record is now 8-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Apex Friendship has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Tuscola struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.1 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 baseball content.
