The North Buncombe Black Hawks will square off against the Madison Patriots at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Madison will be up against a hot North Buncombe squad: the team just extended their winning streak to six. North Buncombe was the clear victors by a 9-3 margin over Mountain Heritage on Monday. Nine seems to be a good number for the Black Hawks as the squad scooped up a victory with the same number of runs in their previous game.
Kameron Keenan
| 03/10/25 @ Mountain Heritage | 11 |
| 04/09/24 vs Asheville | 7 |
| 02/28/25 vs Franklin | 6 |
| 05/01/24 @ Enka | 5 |
| 04/19/24 @ A.C. Reynolds | 5 |
Kameron Keenan was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out 11 batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Those 11 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run and six RBI. That home run marked the first that he launched this season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Bannen Winker, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Dylan Silvers also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Madison). They put the hurt on Avery County with a sharp 14-8 win on Tuesday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Patriots.
Like North Buncombe, Madison also got a great game from a two-way player: Chance Penland. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing four innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. That's the fewest hits Penland has allowed since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing Two bases. while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Madison got a massive performance out of Caden Lounsbury, who scored two runs and stole Two bases. while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Dallas Bartlett, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Madison always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .585. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
North Buncombe's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.3 runs over those games. As for Madison, their win bumped their record up to 2-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Buncombe has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Madison struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
