It may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Swansboro ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the West Carteret Patriots, sneaking past 2-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Pirates have posted since April 26, 2024.
Patrick Hollifield
| 03/27/25 @ West Carteret | 1 |
| 03/14/25 vs West Bladen | 1 |
Patrick Hollifield spent all eight innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up 11 Ks. He is becoming a predictor of Swansboro's success: when he allows at most one earned run the team is 4-1 (and 1-3 when he doesn't).
At the plate, Swansboro's win was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Nick Quinones, who scored a run while going 1-for-2. Josh Scott also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
The victory (which was Swansboro's third in a row) raised their record to 5-4. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 8.67 hits in those games compared to only 5.33 in the others. As for West Carteret, their loss was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 5-5.
Swansboro and West Carteret should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings. Swansboro (ranked 106th) will meet Dixon (ranked 303rd) at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, West Carteret will square off against White Oak at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday up 256 places (130 vs. 386).
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
