The South Lenoir Blue Devils will head out on the road to square off against the Southwest Onslow Stallions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Last Tuesday, everything went South Lenoir's way against Wallace-Rose Hill as South Lenoir made off with a 12-2 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for South Lenoir.
Braden Barnett made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and only one walk). Barnett was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Austin Clements looked comfortable as he pitched 3.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits.
Back at the plate, South Lenoir got a massive performance out of Adam McDonald, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Gage Howard was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, Southwest Onslow got the win against Kinston on Wednesday by a conclusive 14-1.
The team relied heavily on Cole Jarman, who scored two runs while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Nicholas Sanders, who scored two runs while going 1-for-1.
South Lenoir's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-4. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.7 runs per game. As for Southwest Onslow, their record now sits at 6-7.
Friday's contest will be a test for both team's pitchers. South Lenoir hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .358. However, it's not like Southwest Onslow struggles in that department as they've averaged .352. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
South Lenoir was able to grind out a solid win over Southwest Onslow when the teams last played back in March, winning 8-5. The rematch might be a little tougher for South Lenoir since the squad 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
