A feisty cat fight will be fought as Dudley Panthers take on Rockingham County Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Dudley will bounce into Tuesday's matchup after beating Eastern Guilford, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Dudley put the hurt on Eastern Guilford with a sharp 15-4 win on Friday. The victory was nothing new for the Panthers as they're now sitting on four straight.
Donovan Locklear made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over 3.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in walks (one). He was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 3-for-4. Dudley is 5-1 when Locklear posts two or more runs, but 2-3 otherwise.
Jayven Baize
| 03/28/25 vs Eastern Guilford | 6 |
| 03/21/25 vs Ben L. Smith | 4 |
| 02/28/25 @ Atkins | 3 |
| 03/19/25 @ Glenn | 1 |
| 03/04/25 @ High Point Central | 1 |
In other batting news, Jayven Baize was a standout: he went a perfect 3-for-3 with six RBI, three runs, and one double. Those six RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Brayden Jeffries, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, and one triple.
Dudley kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Rockingham County owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Friday. They blew past Atkins 9-0. The win was familiar territory for the Cougars, who have now won 11 contests in a row.
Not much got past Hudson Deel, who gave up just two hits and racked up 12 Ks to keep Atkins off the board. Deel has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Rockingham County let Nate Revis and Brady Ross run wild. Revis scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3, while Ross scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. Revis has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Stritmatter, who scored two runs while going 2-for-2.
Rockingham County pushed their record up to 12-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for Dudley, their victory bumped their record up to 7-4.
Tuesday's matchup might come down to which pitcher can control the ball better. Dudley has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .533. However, it's not like Rockingham County struggles in that department as they've averaged .500. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
