Baseball Game Preview: South Stokes Sauras vs. East Surry Cardinals

South Stokes hasn't had much luck against East Surry recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. South Stokes will welcome East Surry at 7:00 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

South Stokes took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-7 win over East Wilkes. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Sauras have posted since April 26, 2024.

Xander Martin

Batters Struck Out (Career)

03/25/25 vs East Wilkes	3
03/21/25 @ Mount Airy	2
03/07/25 vs McMichael	2
03/01/25 vs Chatham Charter	1
02/26/25 vs Forbush	1

Xander Martin made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three). He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of South Stokes' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 2-6 when he doesn't).

Martin wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Levi Bailey, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3. South Stokes is undefeated when Bailey posts two or more runs, but 3-6 otherwise. Samuel Kidd was another, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.

Meanwhile, it was close, but on Monday East Surry sidestepped North Stokes for a 3-2 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Cardinals.

East Surry's victory bumped their record up to 4-5. As for South Stokes, the win got them back to even at 6-6.

South Stokes came up short against East Surry when the teams last played back in April of 2024, falling 4-1. Will South Stokes have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.