Lakewood is 1-9 against North Duplin since April of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Lakewood Leopards will head out on the road to take on the North Duplin Rebels at 6:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
Last Thursday, Lakewood got the win against Union by a conclusive 13-2. The victory was just what Lakewood needed coming off of a 15-0 loss in their prior contest.
Samuel Johnson made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Johnson has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive pitching appearances. Johnson was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Landon Neal, who went 3-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Rylan Godbold, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, North Duplin put the finishing touches on their eighth blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They never let Neuse Charter onto the board and left with a 13-0 win.
Noa Quintanilla was incredible, going 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base. The team also got some help courtesy of Austin Duff, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-2.
Lakewood's record is now 5-9. As for North Duplin, they pushed their record up to 9-6 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home.
Tuesday's game might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Lakewood has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .448. However, it's not like North Duplin struggles in that department as they've averaged .477. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Lakewood suffered a grim 13-1 defeat to North Duplin when the teams last played back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of North Duplin's Garris Warren, who struck out seven batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Now that Lakewood knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
