The Columbus Explorers will square off against the West Boca Raton Bulls at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Columbus was handed a heart-breaking two-run loss in their last matchup, but they sure didn't let that happen against South Dade on Friday. Columbus was the clear victor by a 13-7 margin over South Dade. The result was nothing new for the Explorers, who have now won nine contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Wyatt Goins looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-low in walks (zero).
Matthew Fernandez
| 03/21/25 @ South Dade | 2 |
| 03/14/25 vs Southridge | 1 |
| 03/06/25 vs Gulliver Prep | 1 |
| 03/05/25 vs Ferguson | 1 |
| 02/28/25 @ West Boca Raton | 1 |
At the plate, Matthew Fernandez was a standout: he scored two runs while going 4-for-4. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Maximus Alvarez, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Columbus always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .561. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as South Dade only posted an OBP of .400.
Meanwhile, West Boca Raton was not the first on the board on Wednesday, but they got there more often. They walked away with a 12-7 win over Pine Crest.
West Boca Raton let Drew Sucoff and Derek Godfrey run wild. Sucoff scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3, while Godfrey scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in two of his five plate appearances. West Boca Raton is undefeated when Godfrey posts two or more runs, but 4-10 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Tayegan Briskey, who scored a run while going 2-for-5.
Columbus' victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-4. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.2 runs over those games. As for West Boca Raton, their victory bumped their record up to 7-10.
Columbus took their win against West Boca Raton when the teams last played back in February by a conclusive 11-1. Will Columbus repeat their success, or does West Boca Raton has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
