South Lenoir vs North Lenoir Baseball Preview
Top Hitters
HAWKS
Garrett Byrd .407 avg 4 RBIs 3 2B 1 HRs
Blake Crawford .500 avg 6 RBIs 2 HRs 6 SBs
Carter Chadwick .400 avg 9 RBIs 1 2B 1 3B
BLUE DEVILS
Braxton Byrd .500 avg 9 RBIs 2 2B 7 SBs
Reed Davis .435 avg 11 RBIs 2 2B 2 3B 2 SB
Gage Howard .500 avg 9 RBIs 3 2B 1 3B 3 SB
Top Pitchers
HAWKS
Jackson Jenkins 13.2 IP 2.05 ERA 1 win 0 losses 20 Ks
Eli Kearney 11 IP 1.27 ERA 2 wins 0 losses 16 Ks
BLUE DEVILS
Matthew Rhodes 14 IP 2.50 ERA 2 wins 0 losses 19 Ks
Braden Barnett 10.2 IP 1.31 ERA 2 wins 0 Losses 13 Ks
Strengths
HAWKS
Even after losing 8 seniors this team still brings back a slew of experienced players. Having players like Blake Crawford, Jackson Jenkins, Carter Chadwick, Eli Kearney, and Garrett Byrd has been the motor of this team at the mound and at the plate. Hawks have a complete bullpen with Byrd, Kearney, and Jenkins also mixing in some relief pitching Mason Sasser and Wriston Honeycutt.
BLUE DEVILS
The Blue Devils can hit the ball. SL has 9 players with at least 15 bat attempts while averaging above .333. Three players are hitting in the .300s, three hitting in the .400s, and three hitting in the .500s. Braxton Byrd is an excellent leadoff - combining speed, experience, and quickness. Byrd leads the team in batting average, runs scored, hits, and stolen bases.
Weakness
HAWKS
The Hawks are replacing 8 experienced players from last season and because of the departures, it has created holes in the batting lineup. North Lenoir could use a pick up from the bottom half of the lineup.
BLUE DEVILS
Age ain’t nothing but a number… which is true but age is the Blue Devils’ weakness right now. SL has no doubt already improved during the season. This group is a fiesty, hard-nosed, gritty group of kids but still have the occasional unforced errors at times.
LAST 5 MEETINGS
NL won 5-2 on 6/10/21
NL won 9-6 on 5/3/22
NL won 3-2 on 5/5/22
NL won 11-1 on 3/31/23
NL won 8-6 on 5/4/23
Determining Factor
STRENGTH vs STRENGTH. How will South Lenoir’s hitting pair up against North Lenoir’s pitching?
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