Baseball Game Preview: Annville-Cleona Dutchmen vs. Columbia Crimson Tide

Annville-Cleona has gone a perfect 10-0 against Columbia recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Dutchmen will be playing at home against the Crimson Tide at 4:15 p.m. The last three games Annville-Cleona has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Annville-Cleona will face Columbia after dropping another heartbreaker against Northern Lebanon on Wednesday, which marked the second time in a row the team's come within 2.1 of beating them. The Dutchmen fell just short of the Vikings by a score of 3-2. The Dutchmen have struggled against the Vikings recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost meeting.

Annville-Cleona saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Colten Shaffer, who went 1-for-3 with one run.

Meanwhile, Columbia waltzed into their game on Thursday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They beat the Chargers by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 4-3.

Owen Musser was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI.

Columbia's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-5. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of 2.5 runs across that stretch. As for Annville-Cleona, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-5.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Annville-Cleona has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Columbia struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Everything went Annville-Cleona's way against Columbia in their previous matchup two weeks ago, as Annville-Cleona made off with a 10-3 victory. Do the Dutchmen have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Crimson Tide turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.