The Grace Christian Crusaders will head out to face off against the North Raleigh Christian Academy Knights at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Grace Christian 2.8, North Raleigh Christian Academy 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Grace Christian's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They walked away with a 4-0 victory over John Paul II Catholic. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Crusaders.
Grace Christian saw seven different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Nolan Harper, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Grace Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .385. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as John Paul II Catholic only posted a batting average of .050.
Meanwhile, North Raleigh Christian Academy entered their tilt with Raleigh HomeSchool on Tuesday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. They blew past the Hawks 10-1. Considering the Knights have won seven games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Kai Patton made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run over four innings pitched. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one walk in seven consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double.
North Raleigh Christian Academy pushed their record up to 15-5 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.0 run on average over those games. As for Grace Christian, their record is now 17-7.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Grace Christian hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like North Raleigh Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Grace Christian skirted past North Raleigh Christian Academy 2-1 when the teams last played back in March of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
