Lakewood hasn't had much luck against North Duplin recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Leopards will host the Rebels at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lakewood's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Union as they made off with a 25-0 victory. With that win, the Leopards brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Rylan Godbold and Johnson Rouse were a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Godbold tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Rouse tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. At the plate, Godbold scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances, while Rouse scored three runs while going 1-for-4. Rouse has become a key player for Lakewood: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-8 otherwise.
Reed Ammons
| 04/03/25 @ Union | 2 |
| 03/21/25 @ North Duplin | 1 |
| 03/18/25 vs Union | 1 |
| 02/27/25 vs Pender | 1 |
In other batting news, Lakewood got a massive performance out of Reed Ammons, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Those two stolen bases gave Ammons a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Neal, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Lakewood always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .675. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, North Duplin made easy work of Neuse Charter on Thursday and carried off a 15-0 victory. The Rebels haven't had any issues with the Cougars recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.
North Duplin also got a great performance from Cole Grady as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Grady has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Garris Warren was incredible, going 4-for-5 with three doubles, two runs, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Noa Quintanillia, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
North Duplin pushed their record up to 6-5 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Lakewood, their victory bumped their record up to 6-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lakewood has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like North Duplin struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.3 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
