Baseball Game Preview: Hilliard Red Flashes vs. Lafayette Hornets

The Hilliard Red Flashes will take on the Lafayette Hornets at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Hilliard is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Monday. They put the hurt on Fort White with a sharp 12-5 win. The Red Flashes' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.

Braden Bentley was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. Another player making a difference was Christian Ashley, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.

Meanwhile, Lafayette waltzed into their game on Thursday with 11 straight wins... but they left with 12. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-2 victory over the Tigers.

Lafayette saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Garrett Taylor, who went 2-for-4 with one home run and one stolen base. Trevor Byrd was another, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.

Lafayette's win was their 15th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 18-2. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.4 runs on average over those games. As for Hilliard, with the win, they broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 5-16.

Hilliard suffered a grim 10-0 defeat to Lafayette in their previous matchup back in May of 2023. Can the Red Flashes avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.