The Hickory Christian Academy Knights are taking a road trip to take on the Asheville T Trailblazers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hickory Christian Academy will be looking to extend their current seven-game winning streak.
Hickory Christian Academy is headed into the match having just posted their closest victory since May 7, 2024 on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 9-8 win over Varsity Opponent.
Samuel Yount made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off eight hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Yount wasn't the only one making solid contact as six players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Will Friar, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Asheville T came up short against Anderson C on Monday and fell 11-7. The Trailblazers haven't had much luck with the Cavaliers recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.
Like Hickory Christian Academy, Asheville T also got a great game from a two-way player: Sterling Haynes. He pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. What's more, Haynes gave up only zero earned runs, the fewest he's had since back in March. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Abrey Hernandez and Gage Flowers did some serious damage despite the final result: Hernandez scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Flowers went 1-for-4 with two runs and one triple. Flowers is becoming a predictor of Asheville T's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 8-4 (and 0-6 when he doesn't). Stephen Covington was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
Hickory Christian Academy pushed their record up to 10-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.6 runs over those games. As for Asheville T, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-10.
Hickory Christian Academy was able to grind out a solid victory over Asheville T in their previous meeting back in March, winning 14-11. Do the Knights have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Trailblazers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
