Baseball Game Preview: Gilbert Indians vs. Airport Eagles

The Gilbert Indians will challenge the Airport Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Gilbert sitting on 11 straight victories and Airport on nine.

Gilbert is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Carolina's top teams: Hammond, who was ranked fifth at the time (Gilbert was ranked 17th). Gilbert walked away with a 7-2 win over Hammond on Friday.

Meanwhile, Airport's hitters rose to the challenge against a Yellow Jackets pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.83 runs allowed on Saturday. Airport put the hurt on Irmo with a sharp 10-4 victory. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won four games by six runs or more so far this season.

Brice Gillette was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two RBI and one double.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Braden Gross, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3. That stolen base marked the first that he snagged this season. Isahia Clemons was another key player, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-4.

Gilbert pushed their record up to 12-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Airport, their record is now 11-2.

Gilbert came out on top in a nail-biter against Airport when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for Gilbert since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.