The South Mecklenburg Sabres will venture away from home to take on the Sun Valley Spartans at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. South Mecklenburg is coming into the match hot, having won their last five games.
For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last four times South Mecklenburg and Palisades have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Friday. South Mecklenburg skirted past Palisades 2-1.
Connor Longley looked comfortable as he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April of 2024.
At the plate, South Mecklenburg saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Pete Halstead, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one RBI.
While Sun Valley didn't have the best season last year (they finished 8-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They had just enough and edged out Lake Norman 4-3. The win was a breath of fresh air for the Spartans as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
Bryson Thomas tossed a big game, striking out seven batters over 6.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits.
On the hitting side, Paxton Homewood was excellent, scoring a run while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
South Mecklenburg pushed their record up to 9-4 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Sun Valley, their record now sits at 7-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. South Mecklenburg has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Sun Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
South Mecklenburg took their victory against Sun Valley when the teams last played back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 10-4. Does South Mecklenburg have another victory up their sleeve, or will Sun Valley turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
