Rebels rumble over Lakewood

On a calm, chilly Thursday evening, the Leopards hosted the North Duplin Rebels. It didn’t end well for the home squad as the Rebels overran Lakewood in convincing fashion, dominating on both fronts by double digits.

Baseball

The Leopards were down and out from the first with the Rebels seemingly seeing things in slow motion, tacking on 11 runs before Lakewood had their first at bat of the evening. They’d lose 12-1 in five innings.

It was all North Duplin from the beginning as Lakewood’s pitching didn’t fool the visitors one bit. Run after run, the Leopards were powerless to stop the onslaught. By the time they had gotten their third out, Lakewood was trailing by 11. Heath Britt got on base with a solid hit, one of three that would be hit that evening, that gave him a single on the evening. He’d be able to make it home after stealing second with a knock by Landon Neal, scoring their only run for the evening.

Neal took over on the mound and the Leopards adjusted on the defense, holding them to a solitary run for the remainder of the game. Lakewood couldn’t get any runs of their own, however, and were rendered inert as they couldn’t put anything on the board for the rest of the game. Lakewood took the loss, 12-1.

Samuel Johnson, Britt and Neal were the only hits out of the evening, smacking three for the entire game. Neal managed to tally nine strikeouts, four walks and one run for the game.

Softball

After a long delay with referees running late, Lakewood kicked off their game against the Rebels. The powerhouse North Duplin squad squashed the Leopards on the diamond, 24-2.

The Lady Leopards didn’t have five of their players to begin the game and the Rebels took advantage. Much like their male counterparts, they were met with heavy resistance, as the North Duplin bats were hot. The Lady Rebels smacked 11 runs in before the inning evening finished. Lakewood managed to get a solitary run on the board but not much more offense was to be had for the home team.

The game proceeded to get ugly as Lakewood couldn’t find any rhythm, floundering about in the infield, unable to settle tough grounders and struggled to keep the gaps closed off. The game ended with Lakewood taking their fourth consecutive loss.