Preview: Hickory Crawdads at Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Interstat) — The Hickory Crawdads and Kannapolis Cannon Ballers will meet for the third straight day Thursday at Atrium Health Ballpark, with the teams looking to break a series split and gain an edge in the early season standings.

First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. under clear skies with temperatures around 59 degrees.

The Crawdads (3-2) evened the series with a 4-3 win Tuesday before the Cannon Ballers (2-3) responded with a 4-0 shutout victory Wednesday. Hickory holds a narrow one-game lead in the overall standings.

Hickory will send right-hander Alejandro Chiquillo (0-0) to the mound for his first start of the season. He will face a Kannapolis lineup that erupted for 19 runs in a win over Hill City on Saturday but was held quiet in its two other victories.

A key matchup will feature two pitchers coming off strong outings in Wednesday’s contest. Hickory’s Aidan Deakins, a player to watch, delivered four scoreless innings of relief, allowing just two hits and striking out five. For Kannapolis, starter Riley Eikhoff earned the win with five dominant innings, surrendering only one hit and fanning seven.

Eikhoff’s season has been a tale of two starts, however, following a rough outing on April 2 where he allowed four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings against Hill City.

The Crawdads’ bullpen, featuring Geury Rodriguez and Angel Anazco, combined for 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball Wednesday and will be relied upon behind Chiquillo. Kannapolis’s relief corps of Jackson Nove and Ryan Schiefer closed the door with three hitless frames in the series-tying win.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, Thursday’s contest projects to be another tight one, with a predicted final score of 4-3 in favor of Hickory.

Following Thursday’s game, the two teams will conclude their six-game series with contests Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Kannapolis.