North Johnston has gone a perfect 7-0 against Spring Creek recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Tuesday. The North Johnston Panthers will welcome the Spring Creek Gators at 6:30 p.m. Spring Creek took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on North Johnston, who comes in off a win.
North Johnston is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Neuse Charter 14-1 on Friday. The high-scoring effort was just what the Panthers needed considering they were shut out in their previous match.
Reid Willoughby
| 03/14/25 @ Neuse Charter | 2 |
| 03/07/25 @ Fike | 1 |
| 03/03/25 vs Fike | 1 |
| 05/03/24 vs Goldsboro | 1 |
Reid Willoughby made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because North Johnston is 2-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 1-2 otherwise. Willoughby was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in runs.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Daniel Turner, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Luke Lomonaco, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-3.
North Johnston always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Spring Creek fell victim to Hobbton and their airtight pitching crew on Wednesday. They lost 12-0 to the Wildcats. The Gators have struggled against the Wildcats recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive lost meetings.
The win got North Johnston back to even at 3-3. As for Spring Creek, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 2-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. North Johnston has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Spring Creek struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
North Johnston took their victory against Spring Creek in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 20-0. Does North Johnston have another victory up their sleeve, or will Spring Creek turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
