After flying high against James Kenan last Tuesday, East Duplin came back down to earth. The East Duplin Panthers wound up on the wrong side of a tough 13-3 walloping at the hands of the South Lenoir Blue Devils on Friday. East Duplin has struggled against South Lenoir recently, as their match on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
For South Lenoir's part, Matthew Rhodes made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off two hits. Rhodes was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Jacob Howard was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Braxton Byrd, who scored three runs and stole three bases while going 2-for-3.
East Duplin's loss dropped their record down to 9-11. As for South Lenoir, they pushed their record up to 11-5 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. East Duplin will challenge Kinston at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. East Duplin is facing Kinston at the right time seeing as Kinston is stuck on a 12-game losing streak. As for South Lenoir, they will head out on the road to face off against James Kenan at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. South Lenoir will also cruise into their next matchup with the timing on their side: James Kenan will have lost five straight heading into Monday's contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
