The South View Tigers are taking a road trip to square off against the Lumberton Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Lumberton will be up against a hot South View team: the squad just extended their winning streak to five. The Tigers came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 10-9 W against East Columbus. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Tigers have posted since April 10, 2024.
Logan Read made a big impact no matter where he played. He tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two runs. That home run marked the first that he launched this season.
In other batting news, Juan Mckoy was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2. Avery Barbour also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
South View hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least four batters in four consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Lumberton has relied on a stalwart pitchers averaging 3.77 runs allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Wednesday. They had just enough and edged out Hoke County 13-11. The Pirates haven't had any issues with the Bucks recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive victory against them.
Like South View, Lumberton also got a great game from a two-way player: Shaun Henderson. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Henderson was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Lumberton let Brody Stueck and Issac Simmons run wild. Stueck scored a run while going 4-for-4, while Simmons went 1-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one run. Those three RBI gave Simmons a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jayden Graham, who scored three runs while going 2-for-4.
Lumberton's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-3. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.4 runs over those games. As for South View, their record now sits at 10-6.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. South View has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Lumberton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
South View couldn't quite finish off Lumberton in their previous matchup back in March and fell 5-3. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
