Baseball Recap: Western Harnett's Victory on Thursday Extends Winning Streak to Three

Western Harnett waltzed into their contest on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They put the hurt on the E.E. Smith Golden Bulls with a sharp 18-1 win. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 25-4 last Tuesday.

Bryson Pope

Doubles (Career)

04/10/25 @ E.E. Smith	2
03/28/25 @ Overhills	1
03/25/25 vs Overhills	1
04/23/24 @ E.E. Smith	1
04/12/24 vs Terry Sanford	1

Braylen Wright and Bryson Pope made a big impact no matter where they played. On the mound, Wright pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Pope struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and only one walk). He has become a key player for Western Harnett: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 3-11 otherwise. At the plate, Wright went 3-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI, while Pope scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave Pope a new career-high in doubles (two).

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Lawton Hickman, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. He is becoming a predictor of Western Harnett's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 2-12 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Dariel Pagan, who scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.

Western Harnett kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 3.9 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 9.

Western Harnett's record is now 5-12. As for E.E. Smith, they dropped their record down to 0-13 with the defeat, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season.

Western Harnett didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next game, a 14-1 loss against Triton on the 15th. After both having extra time off, E.E. Smith and Westover will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 6:00 p.m. on the 22nd. The Wolverines have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 14.71 runs per game on average), something the Golden Bulls will no doubt try to take advantage of.