The Apex Friendship Patriots will face off against the Ashley Screaming Eagle on Friday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Apex Friendship comes in on 12 and Ashley on five.
Apex Friendship is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Lumberton a 7-0 shutout. Considering the Patriots have won 12 contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Luke Hemric tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 16 over six innings pitched. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in 11 consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Braden Bloom was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run. Connor Sousa was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Ashley ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Broughton 4-3. Four seems to be a good number for the Screaming Eagle as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Cane Mehling spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned (and one unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up eight Ks.
At the plate, Ashley's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Coleman Cross, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That's the most hits Cross has posted since back in March. Another was Quinn Bentley, who went 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.
Apex Friendship's victory was their 11th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-6. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.6 runs on average over those games. As for Ashley, their victory bumped their record up to 21-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Apex Friendship has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Ashley struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
