The Willow Spring Storm will venture away from home to square off against the Apex Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Willow Spring is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.1 runs per game this season.
Willow Spring proved they can win big on Wednesday (they won by ten) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Green Level a 2-0 shutout.
Alex Smith
Willow Spring gave Alex Smith the start and clearly made the right call: he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Smith also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because the Storm are 3-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 2-4 otherwise. Chadburn Turner relieved him and did a solid job, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits.
At the plate, Colby Harbin was excellent, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. Nate Rice also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Apex was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost a 7-5 heartbreaker at the hands of Garner.
Apex saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was AUSTIN TACK, who went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Another was BALIAN PENA, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Willow Spring is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a massive bump to their 5-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.2 runs over those games. As for Apex, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Willow Spring has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 6.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Apex struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Willow Spring was able to grind out a solid victory over Apex in their previous matchup back in March of 2025, winning 5-1. Will the Storm repeat their success, or do the Cougars have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
