Baseball Game Preview: Hilliard Red Flashes vs. Baldwin Indians

Hilliard is 1-9 against Baldwin since March of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Red Flashes will face off against the Indians at 6:30 p.m.

Last Thursday, Hilliard didn't have quite enough to beat Yulee and fell 3-1. That's two games in a row now that the Red Flashes have lost by exactly two runs.

Meanwhile, Baldwin won against Paxon School For Advanced Studies on Thursday with 13 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Monday. The Indians came out on top against Baker County by a score of 13-8. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Indians.

Chase Staley was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Baldwin is 3-1 when Staley allows two or fewer hits, but 9-10 otherwise. Staley was also stellar in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI, one run, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since back in April of 2024.

In other batting news, Baldwin got a big performance out of Jesse Macik, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with one triple, two RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI Macik has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Mac Johnson, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.

Baldwin always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .537. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

This is the second loss in a row for Hilliard and nudges their season record down to 4-15. Even worse, they were so close both times: the losses came by an average of only two runs. As for Baldwin, they now have a winning record of 12-11.

Hilliard suffered a grim 12-5 defeat to Baldwin when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can the Red Flashes avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.