The Columbia Tigers will take on the Beachside Barracudas at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Beachside took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Columbia, who comes in off a win.
Columbia was handed a seven-run defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Tuesday. They won by a run and slipped past Suwannee 3-2.
Columbia saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Trayce McKenzie, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. Casen Maddox also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Meanwhile, Beachside didn't have quite enough to beat St. Augustine on Tuesday and fell 3-1. The Barracudas have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Beachside also got a good showing from Nick Malec, who tossed 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Malec has become a key player for Beachside: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one hit, but 0-7 otherwise.
Columbia's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-4. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Beachside, their loss dropped their record down to 2-8.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Columbia has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Beachside struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Columbia couldn't quite finish off Beachside in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 and fell 2-0. Will Columbia have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
