North Duplin is 9-1 against Lakewood since April of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The North Duplin Rebels will look to defend their home field against the Lakewood Leopards at 6:00 p.m. Both teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
North Duplin can now show off eight landslide victories after their most recent contest on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Neuse Charter a 13-0 shutout. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for North Duplin considering their one-run performance the matchup before.
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.
Meanwhile, Lakewood came into Thursday's game having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. Everything went their way against Union on Thursday as Lakewood made off with a 13-2 victory. The high-scoring effort was just what Lakewood needed considering they were shutout in their previous match.
Samuel Johnson made a splash 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, Landon Neal was incredible, going 3-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and a stolen base. Another player making a difference was Tyler Tew, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2.
North Duplin pushed their record up to 9-6 with that win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories were due in large part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.8 runs per game. As for Lakewood, their victory bumped their record up to 5-9.
Lakewood's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: North Duplin hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .353. It's a different story for Lakewood, though, as they've only averaged .227. Will they be able to contain North Duplin's hitters?
Everything went North Duplin's way against Lakewood in their previous meeting back in March as North Duplin made off with a 13-1 win. Does North Duplin have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lakewood turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
