The Ravenscroft Ravens will head out on the road to face off against the Durham Academy Cavaliers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Ravenscroft has three straight victories, Durham Academy has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Friday, Ravenscroft earned a 9-4 win over Cary Academy.
Matt Ulicny made a splash no matter where he played. He pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Ulicny was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Pierce Davidian, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-4. Another player making a difference was Josh Shepherd, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 3-for-3.
Meanwhile, Durham Academy came up short against North Raleigh Christian Academy on Friday and fell 7-2. That's two games in a row now that Durham Academy has lost by exactly five runs.
Like Ravenscroft, Durham Academy also got a great game from a two-way player: Emmet Christian. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits. Christian was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Ravenscroft has been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 13 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. As for Durham Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 7-9.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Ravenscroft has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Durham Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Ravenscroft came out on top in a nail-biter against Durham Academy in their previous matchup back in March, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ravenscroft since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
