Baseball Game Preview: Unity Christian Crusaders vs. Zeeland East Chix

For the second straight game, Unity Christian will face off against Zeeland East. The Crusaders are taking a road trip to take on the Chix at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Unity Christian has struggled recently with four losses in a row, while Zeeland East will arrive with seven straight wins.

Zeeland East hit Unity Christian with a four-run fifth inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Crusaders took an 8-5 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Chix.

For Zeeland East's part, Derek Baxter made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off five hits. Baxter has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with three RBI and one triple. That triple marked the first that he has hit this season.

In other batting news, Zeeland East let Max Mulder and Quincy Thome run wild. Mulder got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs, while Thome went 3-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Those two stolen bases gave Mulder a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryan Kuzma, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.

Zeeland East's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 17-4. As for Unity Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 12-5.