Baseball Game Preview: Decatur Golden Gators vs. Federal Way Eagles

For the second straight game, Decatur will face off against Federal Way. The Golden Gators will head out to square off against the Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Decatur will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.

The home team had won the previous three meetings between Decatur and Federal Way, and Decatur kept the tradition alive. The Golden Gators sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-1 win over the Eagles on Wednesday. That's two games straight that the Golden Gators have won by just one run.

Hunter Buol spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on two hits and racked up eight Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in eight consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Decatur's victory was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Cervantes (CJ) Gatterson, who went 1-for-2 with one double and one RBI.

Decatur's win bumped their record up to 16-1-1. As for Federal Way, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 9-6.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Decatur has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Federal Way struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.