The Columbia Tigers will square off against the Suwannee Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Suwannee will be up against a hot Columbia team: the squad just extended their winning streak to three. Columbia's pitchers stepped up to hand Eagle's View an 11-0 shutout on Tuesday. The contest marked the Tigers' most dominant win of the season.
Trayce McKenzie made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those zero hits allowed gave him a new career-low. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Madden Mann, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Keegan Knight, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base and two RBI.
Columbia was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .433. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Eagle's View only posted a batting average of .059.
Meanwhile, Suwannee entered their tilt with Newberry on Wednesday with two consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with three. They put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 9-3 victory.
Grayson Greene tossed a big game, tossing five innings while giving up just two earned runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, Jace Moran and Kyler Watson did most of the damage at the plate: Moran scored three runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-3, while Watson scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Hampton Newman, who went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Suwannee's win bumped their record up to 11-6. As for Columbia, their victory bumped their record up to 10-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Columbia has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Suwannee struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Columbia skirted past Suwannee 3-2 when the teams last played on March 4th. Will Columbia repeat their success, or does Suwannee has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
