Baseball Game Preview: Northern Durham Knights vs. Chapel Hill Tigers

The Northern Durham Knights will square off against the Chapel Hill Tigers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Northern Durham is coming into the game hot, having won their last three games.

On Wednesday, Northern Durham earned a 5-1 victory over Hillside.

Dylan Guerrette made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits (and not a single walk). Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 3-for-3.

Liam Hawkes

Runs

04/16/25 vs Hillside	2
04/10/25 @ Hillside	2
03/19/25 @ Southern School of Energy and Sustainability	2
02/28/25 vs Roxboro Community	2
04/02/25 @ Green Level	1
+ 3 more games

Guerrette wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Liam Hawkes, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. Hawkes has become a key player for Northern Durham: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 4-6 otherwise. Mason Wilkins was another, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.

Meanwhile, Chapel Hill was not the first on the board on Wednesday, but they got there more often. They had just enough and edged out Cary 8-6.

Chapel Hill also got a great performance from Asa Foster as he tossed five innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Foster has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.

Chapel Hill's win bumped their record up to 8-6. As for Northern Durham, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 8-6.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Northern Durham has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Chapel Hill struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Northern Durham couldn't quite finish off Chapel Hill when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 4-2. Can the Knights avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.