Baseball Game Preview: Willow Spring Storm vs. Apex Friendship Patriots

Storm

Runs

04/09/25 @ Rolesville	2
04/08/25 @ Cleveland	4
03/27/25 @ South Garner	10
03/21/25 @ Southeast Raleigh	16
03/19/25 @ Apex	5
+ 7 more games

The Willow Spring Storm are taking a road trip to square off against the Apex Friendship Patriots at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Willow Spring is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.2 runs per game this season.

Last Wednesday, Willow Spring didn't have quite enough to beat Rolesville and fell 3-2. The Storm have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Willow Spring saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gio Tafalla, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Apex Friendship beat Panther Creek 10-5 on Thursday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Patriots.

Tyler Komorner looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run but no hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than one hit in six consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Apex Friendship got a massive performance out of Connor Sousa, who scored three runs while going 2-for-2. Those three runs gave Sousa a new career-high. Ajay Rychcik was another key player, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, one run, and one double.

Willow Spring's loss dropped their record down to 7-5. As for Apex Friendship, their victory bumped their record up to 12-6.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Willow Spring has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Apex Friendship struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Willow Spring skirted past Apex Friendship 11-10 when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Do the Storm have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Patriots turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.