The Columbus Explorers will head out on the road to challenge the West Boca Raton Bulls at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Columbus barely beat Southwest the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Columbus was the clear victors by an 8-2 margin over Southwest on Thursday. Winning may never get old, but the Explorers sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Samuel Alonso looked comfortable as he struck out nine batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits.
Jose Correa
| 02/27/25 @ Southwest | 5 |
| 02/17/25 vs Killian | 2 |
| 02/13/25 vs Mater Academy Charter | 2 |
| 04/05/24 vs South Dade | 2 |
| 04/03/24 vs Key West | 2 |
On the hitting side, Jose Correa was incredible, scoring a run and stealing five bases while going 2-for-3. Those five stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Matthew Fernandez also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for West Boca Raton, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Boca Raton a 9-0 shutout on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Bulls in their matchups with the Bobcats: they've now won three in a row.
Max McDougall made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only a hit while striking out six over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because West Boca Raton is 2-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 1-2 otherwise. McDougall was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Tayegan Briskey, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. West Boca Raton is undefeated when Briskey posts two or more runs, but 0-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Alejandro Rodriguez, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two doubles and two RBI.
Columbus pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their third straight on the road. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 12.33 hits in those games compared to only 5.33 in the others. As for West Boca Raton, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. Columbus has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.8 hits per game. However, it's not like West Boca Raton struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 4.3 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Columbus couldn't quite finish off West Boca Raton when the teams last played back in March of 2024 and fell 3-1. Can Columbus avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
