KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Interstat) — The Hickory Crawdads will try to bounce back from a one-run loss Thursday night when they continue a six-game series against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers at Atrium Health Ballpark.

Hickory (67-43) is scheduled to start Evan Siary (4-3). Kannapolis had not announced a starter. The forecast calls for rain with temperatures around 86 degrees at first pitch.

Hickory leads the season series 6-4, but Kannapolis (57-53) evened the current series Wednesday with a 5-4 victory. Grayson Fitzwater homered and drove in three runs for the Cannon Ballers, going 3 for 4. Truman Pauley earned the win, allowing one earned run over five innings with seven strikeouts. Marco Barrios added two scoreless innings of relief.

Hickory got a pinch-hit, two-RBI single from Deward Tovar in Wednesday’s loss. Jormy Nivar, a pitcher to watch for the Crawdads, threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and striking out two. In his previous appearance Aug. 7 against Augusta, Nivar allowed three earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.

Pauley was Kannapolis’s standout Wednesday. The Cannon Ballers’ next starter will have to contend with a Hickory lineup that has powered the Crawdads to 67 victories, the best mark in the season series. Hickory has won six of the 10 meetings, including two of three in Kannapolis last weekend? Actually last weekend? Wait. Need correct: The series in Kannapolis started Tuesday. Earlier meetings at Hickory in June and April. Could avoid. We already said season series.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-6 Hickory victory and gives the Crawdads a 53.4 percent probability to win.

The teams will continue the series in Kannapolis with games Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hickory then returns home for a six-game homestand against Delmarva beginning Tuesday. Kannapolis travels to Fredericksburg for a five-game set, also starting Tuesday.

Thursday’s game is the third of six straight meetings between the two teams in Kannapolis, and the Cannon Ballers will look to build momentum after rallying for Wednesday’s win. Hickory, meanwhile, will lean on Siary to restore order after losing for only the second time in its past seven games. The Crawdads entered the series having won four straight before Wednesday.

Weather could play a factor, as rain is in the forecast. Both bullpens could be tested if showers cause delays or interruptions. Hickory’s Nivar appears capable of handling a bulk relief role if needed; he worked through 3 1/3 innings Wednesday without allowing an earned run. Kannapolis’s bullpen also showed depth, with Barrios’s two scoreless innings keeping the Cannon Ballers in front.

With strong records and a close season series, the teams appear evenly matched. Interstat’s projection gives Hickory a slight edge, but Kannapolis has proven it can beat the Crawdads, especially with players like Fitzwater producing at the plate and Pauley setting the tone on the mound.

First pitch is scheduled for Thursday night. The forecast calls for 86 degrees and rain.