The South Mecklenburg Sabres will face off against the Alexander Central Cougars on Friday. Both teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
South Mecklenburg is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They blew past Hickory Ridge 13-3. South Mecklenburg might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won 13 contests by six runs or more this season.
Cameron Bagwell was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Bagwell has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances. Bagwell was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on John Brody Taylor, who scored three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. David Barker was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs.
Meanwhile, Alexander Central's hitters rose to the challenge against a Spartans pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.91 runs allowed on Tuesday. Everything went Alexander Central's way against South Caldwell as Alexander Central made off with an 11-2 win.
Grayson Anderson tossed a big game, pitching 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits.
On the hitting side, Jaret Hoppes was a standout: he scored three runs while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Sawyer Chapman-Mays, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
South Mecklenburg's victory bumped their record up to 19-6. As for Alexander Central, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-12 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. South Mecklenburg has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Alexander Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
