The St. James Sharks will venture away from home to face off against the North Myrtle Beach Chiefs at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. St. James will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each game than the last.
St. James barely beat Conway the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Sharks blew past the Tigers 11-1 on Friday. The Sharks' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Jacob Herrick
| 04/04/25 vs Conway | 5 |
| 03/28/25 @ Carolina Forest | 0 |
| 03/21/25 vs Myrtle Beach | 1 |
| 03/14/25 @ Wando | 2 |
| 03/01/25 vs Northwestern | 5 |
St. James got a great performance from Jacob Herrick as he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. What's more, Herrick posted five strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March.
At the plate, St. James let Josh Harnish and Jackson Squires run wild. Harnish scored two runs while going 2-for-3, while Squires scored two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Squires has become a key player for St. James: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 4-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Luke Kessler, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with four RBI.
St. James always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .676. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, North Myrtle Beach fell victim to Carolina Forest and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. They fell just short of the Panthers by a score of 1-0. Surprisingly, this marked the third straight game that the away team has come away the victor.
Sawyer Smith spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on seven hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
St. James' record now sits at 7-8. As for North Myrtle Beach, their loss dropped their record down to 10-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. James has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Myrtle Beach struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. James might still be hurting after the 8-0 defeat they got from North Myrtle Beach in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Sharks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
