North Johnston has gone a perfect 5-0 against Franklin Academy recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Wednesday. The North Johnston Panthers will venture away from home to square off against the Franklin Academy Patriots at 4:00 p.m. North Johnston is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.1 runs per game this season.
On Tuesday, North Johnston made easy work of Spring Creek and carried off an 11-1 victory. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Gators recently, as the game was their eighth consecutive win against them.
Jackson King
| 03/18/25 vs Spring Creek | 12 |
| 04/09/24 @ Goldsboro | 9 |
| 04/25/24 vs Goldsboro | 7 |
| 03/20/24 @ Bunn | 7 |
| 05/02/24 @ Princeton | 6 |
Jackson King looked comfortable as he struck out 12 batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits (and not a single walk). The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in strikeouts.
At the plate, Tyler Coates was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Seth Scott, who scored three runs while going 2-for-2.
North Johnston always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .548. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Spring Creek only posted an OBP of .158.
Meanwhile, Franklin Academy was not able to break out of their rough patch two weeks ago as the team picked up their sixth straight loss dating back to last season. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 5-4 heartbreaker at the hands of American Leadership Academy-Johnston. One positive for Franklin Academy, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.
Franklin Academy saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Hayden Denton, who scored a run while going 1-for-4. That run marked the first that Denton scored this season.
North Johnston now has a winning record of 4-3. As for Franklin Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Johnston has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Franklin Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
North Johnston came out on top in a nail-biter against Franklin Academy in their previous matchup two weeks ago, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for North Johnston since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
