The Raleigh Lions are taking a road trip to take on the Puckett Wolves at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Raleigh will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.
Raleigh took a 13-run loss the last time they faced off against Pisgah, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Lions had just enough and edged out the Dragons 5-4 on Tuesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Lions have posted since February 25th.
Haylee Buffington
| 04/01/25 @ Pisgah | 1 |
| 03/28/25 vs Taylorsville | 1 |
| 03/27/25 vs St. Andrew's Episcopal | 5 |
Haylee Buffington was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and one stolen base. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kinley Delcid, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
Buffington wasn't the only one making solid contact: Raleigh kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That's a new trend for the Lions: they were averaging 5.6 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 10.6.
Meanwhile, Puckett's rock-solid pitcher showed up for the team's third consecutive shutout on Thursday. They blew past St. Andrew's Episcopal 10-0. Considering the Wolves have won seven matches by more than eight runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Raegan Hardin was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 15 over six innings pitched. Those 15 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Puckett let Marleigh Smith and Brooke Shivers run wild. Smith scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Shivers scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3. That stolen base marked the first that Smith snagged this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Aubrey Pardue, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
Puckett is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-6-1 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Raleigh, their record is now 9-12-1.
Raleigh came up short against Puckett in their previous meeting back in April of 2024, falling 5-1. Can the Lions avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
