The Cary Imps will face off against the Green Level Gators at 6:00 p.m. on Monday.
Cary fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Apex on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Cougars by a score of 4-2. The Imps haven't had much luck with the Cougars recently, as the team has come up short the last six times they've met.
Cary saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Skylan Joyner, who went 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI. That RBI marked the first that Joyner brought in this season. James Oates was another, scoring a run while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Green Level had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Thursday. They walked away with an 8-3 victory over the Catamounts.
Henry Geiser made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. He has become a key player for Green Level: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 2-3 otherwise. Geiser was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
In other pitching news, Dylan Hodges looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Taisei Koyama, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Luke Talley, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Cary now has a losing record of 2-3. As for Green Level, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Cary has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Green Level struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Cary came up short against Green Level in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, falling 4-1. Can Cary avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
