The Topsail Pirates will challenge the Hoggard Vikings at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Having struggled with four losses in a row, Topsail turned things around against New Bern on Wednesday. They came out on top against the Bears by a score of 10-7.
Meanwhile, Hoggard made easy work of Ashley on Tuesday and carried off a 14-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Vikings, who have now won three contests by 11 runs or more so far this season.
Macey Ciamillo made a splash no matter where she played. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also big at the plate, scoring three runs while going 2-for-3. She also put up a double, which was her first of the season.
In other batting news, Sami Hoemann and Sophie Gee did most of the damage at the plate: Hoemann scored three runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Gee scored three runs while going 3-for-4. That's the most runs Hoemann has posted since back in March of 2024. Another player making a difference was Olivia Demetriou, who scored two runs while going 2-for-4.
Hoggard always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .559. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Ashley only posted an OBP of .105.
Hoggard is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 9.5 hits in those games compared to only five in the others. The victory got Topsail back to even at 4-4.
Everything went Topsail's way against Hoggard in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, as Topsail made off with a 13-3 win. Will Topsail repeat their success, or does Hoggard has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
