Baseball Game Preview: Bunker Hill Bears vs. Newton-Conover Red Devils

The Bunker Hill Bears will head out to face off against the Newton-Conover Red Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Bunker Hill has struggled recently with three losses in a row, while Newton-Conover will arrive with six straight victories.

Last Tuesday, Bunker Hill didn't have quite enough to beat Maiden and fell 2-1. That's two games in a row now that the Bears have lost by just one run.

Ross Fickling

Base on Balls Against

04/08/25 vs Maiden	1
04/01/25 vs West Lincoln	2
03/28/25 vs West Caldwell	2
03/24/25 vs West Iredell	2
03/21/25 vs Newton-Conover	1
03/10/25 @ Foard	1

Ross Fickling spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned (and one unearned) run on three hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Bunker Hill saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Braydon Marlowe, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one double.

Meanwhile, Newton-Conover hadn't done well against Bandys recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Red Devils walked away with a 6-1 win over the Trojans.

Newton-Conover's victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-5. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.5 runs over those games. As for Bunker Hill, they now have a losing record of 8-9.

Bunker Hill came up short against Newton-Conover in their previous meeting back in March, falling 7-2. Can the Bears avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.