It was a tough week for the Lakewood baseball team. After falling 6-1 and striking out 10 times in a one hit offensive struggle at Hobbton on Wednesday night, the Leopards followed things up with a 12-0 loss against Spring Creek.
In the game against the Wildcats, the Leopards only gave up 2 earned runs, but once again, their defense let them down. The story was very much the same in the following outing, as they were only out-hit by the Gators by a margin of 12-7, but their defense put them in quite a bind.
Lakewood also struck out 10 times in the loss against Spring Creek, so timely hitting with runners on base and in scoring position continues to be a big issue for the Leopards as well.
Lakewood head coach Jay Faircloth was none too pleased with the way his team played in either game.
“There were so many of their hits, in each game that could have really been stopped but we just didn’t do it. The guys have to have more of a will to stop some of these balls that are put into play from being hits,” he said.
“Our problem offensively now is plate discipline,” continued Faircloth. “We don’t have any at all. We struck out 20 times in two games, and that is just pitiful. I have always been told that it gets worse before it gets better, and it feels like we are close to the bottom right now.”
Faircloth admitted that he is going to continue to work hard and try to get as much out of his team as possible, despite a start that they were not looking for.
“Now it has turned into an 8 game season,” he said. “We have to look at it with a new point of view and a new mindset. I know that we can play better ball, we just have to go out and do it.”
Lakewood is now 4-9 on the season, and they are set to try and regroup when North Duplin comes to town on Tuesday evening. The game is set to start around 6:30 p.m.