Hickory proved they can win big on Thursday (they won by 28) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged out the Grassfield Grizzlies 11-10. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last four times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Hickory got a great performance from Jake Cozart as he struck out seven batters over 4.2 innings while giving up four earned runs off only two hits. Cozart has been consistent: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.
Eli Kraft
| 05/02/25 vs Grassfield | 2 |
| 04/17/25 vs South Lakes | 1 |
| 04/14/25 @ Lucy Beckham | 1 |
| 04/10/25 vs Great Bridge | 1 |
| 03/20/25 @ Oscar Smith | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Eli Kraft, who got on base in all five of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double. Those two stolen bases gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Matthew Kemick, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Hickory is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.3 runs over those games. As for Grassfield, the defeat snapped their winning streak at eight games and leaves them with a 12-6 record.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Hickory will welcome Lakeland at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The Cavaliers' pitching crew has only allowed 4.1 runs per game this season, so the Hawks' hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Grassfield, they will face off against Oscar Smith at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The Grizzlies will need to watch out since the Tigers have now posted at least ten runs in their last three matches.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
