Baseball Game Preview: Salado Eagles vs. Caldwell Hornets

The Salado Eagles will face off against the Caldwell Hornets on Thursday. Salado's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Caldwell's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

Salado is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They skirted past Robinson 5-4. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Eagles.

Kannon Baird made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent for a while: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in nine consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

In other batting news, Brody Cole was excellent, going 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and one run.

Salado was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .387. The last time their batting average was this high was back in April.

Meanwhile, Caldwell won against Royal on Thursday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Friday. The Hornets didn't even let the Falcons on the board, marking the Hornets' second-straight 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Hornets, who have now won eight contests by six runs or more so far this season.

Caldwell has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-10 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.6 runs on average over those games. As for Salado, their record is now 20-9-1.

Everything went Salado's way against Caldwell in their previous matchup back in May of 2023, as Salado made off with a 7-1 victory. Will the Eagles repeat their success, or do the Hornets have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.