The East Wake Academy Eagles are taking a road trip to take on the Franklinton Red Rams at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (East Wake Academy has three straight victories, Franklinton has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
East Wake Academy's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past Franklin Academy 10-0. Considering the Eagles have won ten games by more than nine runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Lane Collier was incredible, firing off two home runs while going 2-for-2. Those two home runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Dexter Benton, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
East Wake Academy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .476. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .391 or higher in three consecutive contests.
The home team had come away the winner the last four times Franklinton and Southern Nash had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Red Rams lost 9-2 to the Firebirds on Thursday. Red Rams fans who chose to attend the game sure picked the wrong one: it was the first time the team's lost against the Firebirds since on Thursday.
Franklinton saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Eli Worner, who went 2-for-3 with one run.
East Wake Academy's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Franklinton, their loss dropped their record down to 5-14.
Franklinton's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: East Wake Academy has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .485. It's a different story for Franklinton, though, as they've only averaged .359. Will they be able to contain East Wake Academy's hitters?
Everything went East Wake Academy's way against Franklinton in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, as East Wake Academy made off with an 11-1 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
