Baseball Preview: Columbus North Bull Dogs vs. Noblesville Millers
The Columbus North Bull Dogs will head out on the road to take on the Noblesville Millers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The pair have allowed few runs on average, (Columbus North: 1.9, Noblesville: 3.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Columbus North is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Floyd Central, who was ranked ninth in their home state at the time (Columbus North was ranked eighth). Columbus North had just enough and edged Floyd Central out 2-1. Winning may never get old, but Columbus North sure is getting used to it with their third in a row.
Connor Hensley spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits.
At the plate, Columbus North's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Joey Fry, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-2. Another player making a difference was Dillon James, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Noblesville entered their tilt with Franklin Central with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. They came out on top against the Flashes by a score of 7-2 on Friday.
Noblesville also let their pitcher toss all seven innings and he was also dialed-in: Nolan Decker gave up just two earned runs on six hits and racked up ten Ks. Decker has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Noblesville let Aiden Reynolds and Brady Bishop loose on the outfield. Reynolds scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Bishop scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-2. Tanner Miller was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Columbus North's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-1. As for Noblesville, their win bumped their record up to 10-2.
Saturday's match will be a test for both team's pitchers. Columbus North hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .323. However, it's not like Noblesville struggles in that department as they've averaged .313. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Columbus North came up short against Noblesville in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, falling 11-7. Can Columbus North avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
