Asheville is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Apex Friendship is on a four-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Cougars will host the Patriots at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Last Tuesday, Asheville made easy work of North Buncombe and carried off an 11-1 win. The result was nothing new for the Cougars, who have now won five matches by seven runs or more so far this season.
Meanwhile, Apex Friendship made easy work of Tuscola on Wednesday and carried off a 17-4 victory. With that win, the Patriots brought their scoring average up to 6.5 runs per game.
Luke Hemric looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Connor Payne and Ajay Rychcik did most of the damage at the plate: Payne went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, three doubles, and four RBI, while Rychcik went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Those four hits gave Rychcik a new career-high. Hayden Fones was another key player, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3.
Apex Friendship always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .634. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Apex Friendship's victory bumped their record up to 9-5. As for Asheville, their win bumped their record up to 8-3.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
