The Lumberton Pirates will face off against the South View Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Lumberton's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Wednesday's struggle, when Hoke County hitters got past them. The Pirates narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Bucks 13-11. The victory continues a trend for the Pirates in their matchups with the Bucks: they've now won nine in a row.
Shaun Henderson made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2024.
Brody Stueck
| 04/02/25 @ Hoke County | 4 |
| 03/18/25 @ Douglas Byrd | 2 |
| 03/11/25 @ South View | 2 |
| 03/04/25 vs Cape Fear | 2 |
| 04/01/25 vs Jack Britt | 1 |
In other batting news, Brody Stueck and Issac Simmons did most of the damage at the plate: Stueck scored a run while going 4-for-4, while Simmons went 1-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. Those four hits gave Stueck a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayden Graham, who scored three runs while going 2-for-4.
Lumberton always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .581. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hoke County only posted an OBP of .417.
Meanwhile, South View entered their tilt with East Columbus on Thursday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 10-9 W against the Gators. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Tigers have posted since April 10, 2024.
Logan Read was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Read was even better at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two runs. That home run was his first of the season.
In other batting news, Juan Mckoy was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2. Trey Ray was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
Lumberton pushed their record up to 10-3 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games. As for South View, their victory bumped their record up to 10-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Lumberton has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like South View struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 5 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Lumberton came out on top in a nail-biter against South View when the teams last played back in March, sneaking past 5-3. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
