Baseball Game Preview: New Haven Bulldogs vs. Columbia City Eagles

The New Haven Bulldogs are taking a road trip to face off against the Columbia City Eagles at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Neither New Haven nor Columbia City posted many runs in their last games, so it might be the pitching crews that decide this one.

New Haven lost 10-2 to Norwell on Tuesday. The defeat continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their meetings with the Knights: they've now lost seven in a row.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Columbia City, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 2-0 victory over Garrett on Wednesday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Eagles have posted against the Railroaders since May 3, 2017.

The result came thanks to Carter Wilkinson's shutout, as he gave up just three hits and racked up 16 Ks. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run in five consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Trey Deckman was excellent, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run. That's the most stolen bases he has posted over his last 11 matches. Another player making a difference was Lukus Schmitt, who got on base in all three of his plate appearances with one RBI.

Columbia City is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.6 runs over those games. As for New Haven, their loss dropped their record down to 8-8.

New Haven suffered a grim 15-3 defeat to Columbia City in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. Can the Bulldogs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.