vs
| 04/05/24 - Away | 4-3 W |
| 03/16/23 - Home | 5-1 W |
| 03/02/22 - Home | 9-4 W |
Pinecrest is a perfect 3-0 against Heritage since March of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. Pinecrest will be playing in front of their home fans against Heritage at 6:00 p.m. Pinecrest is coming into the contest hot, having won their last eight games.
On Tuesday, Pinecrest narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Lee County 5-4.
Pinecrest's victory was truly a team effort as seven different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was JC Woolard, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Heritage). They never let Knightdale get on the board and left with an 18-0 win on Tuesday. The victory was some much needed relief for the Huskies as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Ellis Droke was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Droke was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in both of his plate appearances.
In other pitching news, Holden Kafes looked comfortable as he struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and not a single walk). He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Heritage is 4-2 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 1-4 otherwise.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Cameron Small, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Tyler Abbe was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2.
Heritage was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .421. The last time their batting average was this high was back in April of 2024.
Pinecrest pushed their record up to 9-2 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 1.8 runs across that stretch. As for Heritage, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-2 and their overall record up to 5-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Pinecrest has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Heritage struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 9.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Pinecrest skirted past Heritage 4-3 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Will Pinecrest repeat their success, or does Heritage has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
