Baseball Preview: Neuse Charter Cougars vs. Lakewood Leopards
Neuse Charter is 2-8 against Lakewood since April of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Neuse Charter Cougars will head out on the road to take on the Lakewood Leopards at 5:00 p.m. Neuse Charter is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.5 runs per game this season.
After soaring to 32 runs the game before, Neuse Charter was a bit more limited in their game on Thursday. They fell victim to a rough 13-0 defeat at the hands of North Duplin. The contest marked that first time this season in which Neuse Charter was not able to get on the board.
Neuse Charter saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Landon Wendel, who went 1-for-2 with a stolen base.
Lakewood never got on the board in their matchup on Tuesday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Union on Thursday. Everything went their way against the Spartans as they made off with a 13-2 win. The victory was some much needed relief for Lakewood as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Samuel Johnson made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out ten batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Johnson has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive pitching appearances. Johnson was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Landon Neal, who went 3-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Rylan Godbold, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Neuse Charter's loss dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Lakewood, their record is now 5-9.
Friday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Neuse Charter has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .446. However, it's not like Lakewood struggles in that department as they've averaged .448. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Neuse Charter came up short against Lakewood when the teams last played back in April of 2023, falling 5-2. Can Neuse Charter avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
