Crawdads, Cannon Ballers Set for Afternoon Finale in Kannapolis

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Interstat) — The Hickory Crawdads and Kannapolis Cannon Ballers will wrap up their early-season series with an afternoon contest Wednesday at Atrium Health Ballpark.

First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. under cloudy skies with a temperature near 62 degrees.

The Cannon Ballers (1-2) evened the series with a 3-2 victory Tuesday night. They will look to secure a series split against the visiting Crawdads (2-1).

Hickory is projected to start right-hander Aidan Deakins, while Kannapolis has not announced a probable pitcher.

A player to watch for the Crawdads is reliever AJ Russell, who was dominant in his last outing. On April 4 against Columbia, Russell pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts in a 5-2 win.

Kannapolis counters with a hot bat in designated hitter Rylan Galvan. In the Cannon Ballers’ 19-2 rout of Hill City on April 4, Galvan went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.

Hickory’s pitching staff has been a strength early, combining for a one-hitter over the final five innings in Saturday’s victory. Beyond Russell, relievers Louis Marinaro and Alejandro Chiquillo also contributed scoreless frames with multiple strikeouts.

Kannapolis’s offense exploded for 19 runs on Saturday, with Galvan leading the charge. The pitching was equally sharp, as Anthony Patterson III and Trey Cooper combined for five innings of two-hit, eight-strikeout relief.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, Wednesday’s contest is projected to be a tight one, with a predicted final score of 5-4 in favor of Hickory.

Following Wednesday’s game, the two teams will have an off day before resuming their series with four more games from Thursday through Sunday in Kannapolis.