The Hartfield Academy Hawks will face off against the Columbia Academy Cougars at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Hartfield Academy will be coming into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.
On Friday, everything went Hartfield Academy's way against Warren Central as Hartfield Academy made off with a 12-5 victory. Fans of the Hawks have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 6+ runs.
Latham Bynum looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off five hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Sam Sheffield was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-5. What's more, he posted two RBI, the most he's had since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Luke Humpherys, who scored two runs while going 3-for-5.
Hartfield Academy was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .444. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .444 or higher in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Columbia Academy won against West Marion on Tuesday with eight runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Friday. Columbia Academy walked away with an 8-3 win over West Marion. With that victory, the Cougars brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
The team relied heavily on Jackson Speir, who went 2-for-3 with one home run, four RBI, and one stolen base. He also scored a run, marking his first of the season. Carson Stuart was another key player, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.
Columbia Academy has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.5 runs over those games. Hartfield Academy pushed their record up to 7-0 with the win, which was their third straight on the road.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Saturday. Hartfield Academy hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Columbia Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
