The Central Cabarrus Vikings will head out on the road to take on the West Cabarrus Wolverines at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Central Cabarrus has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the match with four straight defeats, while West Cabarrus will come in with four straight victories.
Friday just wasn't the day for Central Cabarrus' offense. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of East Rowan on Friday.
Tellis Bumgarner was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in March.
On the hitting side, Central Cabarrus saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Andre Vaughn, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one double. That double was Vaughn's first of the season.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but West Cabarrus ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-3 win over Mount Pleasant.
Turner Boone looked comfortable as he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Josh Marlow was excellent, scoring two runs while going 3-for-3. He is becoming a predictor of West Cabarrus' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 4-8 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Cage Love, who went 3-for-5 with three RBI.
West Cabarrus' record is now 7-8. As for Central Cabarrus, their loss dropped their record down to 4-11.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Central Cabarrus has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like West Cabarrus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Central Cabarrus came out on top in a nail-biter against West Cabarrus in their previous meeting two weeks ago, sneaking past 5-3. Will the Vikings repeat their success, or do the Wolverines have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
