Softball Game Preview: Pike Road Patriots vs. Kinston Bulldogs

The Pike Road Patriots will take on the Kinston Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.

Pike Road is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Russell County a 15-0 shutout on Thursday. The Patriots haven't had any issues with the Warriors recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.

Ava Milton

Runs (Career)

02/27/25 vs Russell County	3
04/29/24 vs Park Crossing	2
03/19/24 vs Smiths Station	2
03/14/24 vs Park Crossing	2
03/07/24 vs Russell County	2

Ava Milton and Paisley Forshay made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Milton pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Forshay pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. The dominant performance also gave Milton a new career-low in walks (zero). At bat, Milton scored three runs while going 2-for-3, while Forshay went a perfect 2-for-2 with one RBI. The dominant performance gave Milton a new career-high in runs.

In other batting news, Addison Belyeu was incredible, going 2-for-3 with four runs, two triples, and four RBI. That's the most runs she has posted since back in April of 2024. Kennedy Thompson was another key player, going a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI and two runs.

Pike Road always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, Kinston put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Andalusia, sneaking past 10-8. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory Kinston has posted against Andalusia since February 21, 2019.

Kinston pushed their record up to 9-0 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.8 runs over those games. As for Pike Road, their victory bumped their record up to 3-6.