The Croatan Cougars will look to defend their home field on Thursday against the Swansboro Pirates at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Swansboro is hoping to do on Thursday what White Oak couldn't on Tuesday: put an end to Croatan's winning streak, which now stands at seven games. Everything went Croatan's way against White Oak as Croatan made off with a 27-4 win. Croatan's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Harrison Thomas looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Weston Thomas, who scored five runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-4. He has been hot recently, having posted two or more stolen bases the last three times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Liam McFadden, who scored four runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Swansboro, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road on Friday. They put the hurt on Richlands with a sharp 14-4 victory on Tuesday.
Patrick Hollifield was a major factor no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Hollifield was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with a double and an RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Landen Jenkins, who scored two runs while going 3-for-3. Nick Quinones was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
Croatan pushed their record up to 11-3 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Swansboro, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Croatan has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Swansboro struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.2. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Croatan couldn't quite finish off Swansboro in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 and fell 4-2. Can Croatan avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
