Baseball Game Preview: Salem Seminoles vs. Columbia Eagles

For the second straight game, Salem will face off against Columbia. Salem is taking a road trip to face off against Columbia at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Salem made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Columbia, but they still couldn't quite topple them. Salem was the clear victor by a 16-6 margin over Columbia on Tuesday. The result was nothing new for the Seminoles, who have now won four games by ten runs or more so far this season.

Hunter Hicks spent all five innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered six earned runs on six hits and racked up eight Ks.

Xavier Jones

Stolen Base (Career)

03/25/25 vs Columbia	5
03/04/25 vs Miller Grove	4
02/10/25 @ Glenn Hills	4
03/06/25 @ Miller Grove	3
03/07/24 vs Heritage	2

On the hitting side, Salem got a massive performance out of Xavier Jones, who scored four runs and stole five bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those five stolen bases gave Jones a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jayson Mitchell, who scored two runs and stole five bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.

Salem always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .606. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Columbia only posted an OBP of .375.

Columbia dropped their record down to 5-11 with the loss, which was their fifth straight on the road. That patch can't be blamed on the team's hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.6 runs over those games. As for Salem, with the win, they broke their four-game losing streak and moved their record to 4-9.