The Union Pines Vikings will face off against the Richmond Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Neither Union Pines nor Richmond posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.
Union Pines fell victim to Scotland and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. They came up short against the Fighting Scots, falling 9-0. The defeat continues a trend for the Vikings in their meetings with the Fighting Scots: they've now lost nine in a row.
Meanwhile, Richmond didn't have quite enough to beat Hoke County on Friday and fell 3-2. That's two games in a row now that the Raiders have lost by just one run.
Madee Pearson was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she struck out 11 batters over six innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off eight hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Jakayla Steele made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-3 with one home run. Another player making a difference was Trinity Lockhart, who went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases.
This is the second loss in a row for Richmond and nudges their season record down to 6-10. Even worse, they were so close both times: the losses came by an average of only one runs. As for Union Pines, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-7.
Richmond's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Union Pines has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.1 hits per game. It's a different story for Richmond, though, as they've been averaging 8.9 hits. Given Union Pines' sizable advantage in that area, the Raiders will need to find a way to close that gap.
Union Pines took their victory against Richmond in their previous meeting back in March by a conclusive 19-2 score. Will the Vikings repeat their success, or do the Raiders have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
