North Iredell is 0-4 against East Lincoln since March of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The North Iredell Raiders will head out on the road to challenge the East Lincoln Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
In what's become a running theme this season, North Iredell gave their fans yet another huge victory on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Statesville a 15-0 shutout. The win was familiar territory for North Iredell who now have five in a row.
Chelsea Patton made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (she also didn't allow any walks). Patton has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Patton was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, Mia Curlee was a standout: she went 2-for-2 with five RBI, two runs, and a triple. Another player making a difference was Barrett Williams, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-2.
Meanwhile, East Lincoln waltzed into their game on Wednesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They walked away with an 11-8 victory over the Knights.
Like North Iredell, East Lincoln also got a great game from a two-way player: Kaitlyn Gust. On the mound, she pitched six innings while giving up five earned (and three unearned) runs off eight hits. Gust was even better at the plate, getting on base in all four of her plate appearances with a triple, a run, and a double.
In other batting news, Emery Pethel was excellent, scoring a run while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Taniyah Thomas, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-5.
North Iredell's record now sits at 5-3. As for East Lincoln, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. North Iredell has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 6.1 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like East Lincoln struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.6 per game. The only question left is which team can snag more.
North Iredell might still be hurting after the 17-2 defeat they got from East Lincoln when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Can North Iredell avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
