The Green Hope Falcons are taking a road trip to take on the Apex Friendship Patriots at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Green Hope lost a heartbreaker the last time they played Panther Creek, but it's fair to say they got their revenge given the result of Thursday's game. Green Hope blew past Panther Creek 17-10 on Thursday. That looming 17-10 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Falcons yet this season.
Troy Haynes made a splash no matter where he played. He tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in February. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs while going 4-for-4. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
Dylan Johnson
| 03/27/25 @ Panther Creek | 4 |
| 03/19/25 @ Riverside-Durham | 2 |
| 02/26/25 @ Fuquay - Varina | 2 |
| 03/25/25 vs Panther Creek | 1 |
| 03/12/25 vs East Chapel Hill | 1 |
In other batting news, Dylan Johnson was incredible, scoring four runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-6. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. Patrick Davis was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.
Meanwhile, Apex Friendship had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Cougars a 10-0 shutout. The Patriots not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since February 28th.
Apex Friendship also got a great performance from Luke Hemric as he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. Hemric has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Hayden Fones and Drew Ciaccio did most of the damage at the plate: Fones scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2, while Ciaccio scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Ciaccio has become a key player for Apex Friendship: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-5 otherwise. Connor Sousa also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Apex Friendship always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The victory snapped Green Hope's losing streak at eight games and leaves them with a 4-9 record. As for Apex Friendship, their record now sits at 7-5.
Green Hope couldn't quite get it done against Apex Friendship in their previous matchup on Friday as they fell 4-0. Can Green Hope avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
