Pine Forest has gone a perfect 10-0 against E.E. Smith recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. Pine Forest will venture away from home to face off against E.E. Smith at 7:00 p.m. Pine Forest is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 9.2 runs per game this season.
On Wednesday, Pine Forest got the win against Lee County by a conclusive 11-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Trojans.
Ryan Temple and Ja'Lynn Thomas made a big impact while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Temple pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Meanwhile, Thomas struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off six hits. Temple has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in six consecutive appearances. At bat, Temple scored two runs while going 1-for-2, while Thomas scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Thomas also hit a triple, marking his first of the season.
J.J. Watson
| 03/26/25 vs Lee County | 2 |
| 03/14/25 @ Western Harnett | 1 |
| 03/07/25 vs Westover | 1 |
| 03/04/25 @ Westover | 1 |
| 04/09/24 @ Triton | 1 |
In other batting news, Pine Forest let Chase Mims and J.J. Watson run wild. Mims scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Watson scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3. Those two stolen bases gave Watson a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayhlen Brown, who scored two runs while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
Pine Forest always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .531. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lee County only posted an OBP of .361.
Meanwhile, E.E. Smith was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 14th straight defeat dating back to last season. They lost 15-2 to Pine Forest.
Eric Bullard Jr was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
E.E. Smith's loss dropped their record down to 0-8. As for Pine Forest, their victory bumped their record up to 9-3.
E.E. Smith's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Pine Forest has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .456. It's a different story for E.E. Smith, though, as they've only averaged .235. Will they be able to contain Pine Forest's hitters?
Everything went Pine Forest's way against E.E. Smith in their previous meeting on Tuesday, as Pine Forest made off with a 15-2 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Pine Forest since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
