Lakewood is 1-9 against North Duplin since March of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Lakewood Leopards will be playing at home against the North Duplin Rebels at 6:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Lakewood scored the most runs they've had all season to find success on Tuesday. They blew past Union 30-2. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
Samuel Johnson made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing two innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. Johnson was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with two stolen bases, three runs, and four RBI. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last five games he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Rylan Godbold, who got on base in all five of his plate appearances with five runs, two stolen bases, and five RBI. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. Tyler Tew was another key contributor, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with six RBI, three runs, and a stolen base.
Meanwhile, the third road match was the charm for North Duplin, as they earned their first road win of the season. They put the hurt on Neuse Charter with a sharp 17-2 victory on Tuesday. The win was just what North Duplin needed coming off of a 14-4 defeat in their prior contest.
Esteban Santos Clark tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Tanner Kornegay, who scored three runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-5. The team also got some help courtesy of Wesley Holmes, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Lakewood's victory bumped their record up to 4-6. As for North Duplin, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Lakewood has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like North Duplin struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.4 per game. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Lakewood came up short against North Duplin when the teams last played back in April of 2023, falling 9-5. Thankfully for Lakewood, Richard Noble (who struck out 12 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off one hit) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
