The Southern Alamance Patriots will face off against the Northern Guilford Nighthawks at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Southern Alamance has given up an average of 7.4 runs per game this season, but Thursday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Southern Alamance came up short against Western Alamance on Tuesday, falling 13-2. The Patriots have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, Northern Guilford and Southeast Guilford faced off in a cross-town battle on Tuesday. The Nighthawks put the hurt on the Falcons with a sharp 14-2 victory. Considering the Nighthawks have won seven matchups by more than seven runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Dakotah Wilkins made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off six hits. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in 12 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring four runs while getting on base in all five of her plate appearances. Those four runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Asyah Smith and Anna Kimrey did most of the damage at the plate: Smith went 2-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and two doubles, while Kimrey went a perfect 4-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most doubles Smith has posted since back in April of 2024. Taylor Claassen was another key player, scoring three runs while going 4-for-5.
Northern Guilford always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .550. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Southeast Guilford only posted an OBP of .308.
Northern Guilford has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs on average over those games. As for Southern Alamance, their loss dropped their record down to 7-7.
Everything went Southern Alamance's way against Northern Guilford in their previous matchup back in April of 2019, as Southern Alamance made off with a 16-0 victory. Do the Patriots have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Nighthawks turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
