Baseball Game Preview: Crystal City Hornets vs. Jefferson Blue Jays

Crystal City hasn't had much luck against Jefferson recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Hornets will welcome the Blue Jays at 4:30 p.m. Jefferson took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Crystal City, who comes in off a win.

On Friday, Crystal City sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-3 win over Bismarck.

Kaiden Thomas

Earned Runs

03/31/25 @ St. Vincent	4
03/25/25 @ Fredericktown	3
04/14/25 vs Bishop DuBourg	2
03/21/25 vs Perryville	2

Kaiden Thomas looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He is becoming a predictor of Crystal City's success: when he allows at most two earned runs the team is 2-1 (and 3-8 when he doesn't).

At the plate, Crystal City saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Julian McGinnis, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases. McGinnis has become a key player for the Hornets: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 2-9 otherwise. Trent Eisenbeis also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.

Meanwhile, Wednesday just wasn't the day for Jefferson's offense. They came up short against West County on Wednesday, falling 10-0. The Blue Jays have struggled against the Bulldogs recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive lost meeting.

Crystal City has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-9 record this season. They've had to fight for that success though, as they only beat their opponents by an average of one runs across that stretch. As for Jefferson, their loss dropped their record down to 7-9-1.

Crystal City couldn't quite get it done against Jefferson in their previous matchup back in March of 2023 as they fell 9-6. Can the Hornets avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.