Columbus has won five straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Ferguson has won five straight on the road also dating back to last season, but those streaks won't matter much on Wednesday. The Columbus Explorers will take on the Ferguson Falcons at 6:00 p.m. The two teams are strolling into their matchups after big wins in their previous games.
Columbus' pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Westminster Christian as Columbus made off with a 6-0 victory. Considering the Explorers have won six games by more than five runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Columbus got a great performance from Mathew Rios as he kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over 6.1 innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave Rios a new career-low in hits (zero).
On the hitting side, Columbus saw eight different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Alec Cruz, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Columbus was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .409. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .310 or higher in five consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Ferguson). They were the clear victor by a 15-1 margin over Goleman on Monday. With that win, the Falcons brought their scoring average up to 7 runs per game.
Zachary Alfonso was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Ferguson is 2-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 1-2-1 otherwise. Alfonso was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3. He also hit a double, marking his first of the season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Anthony Giz, who went 3-for-4 with five RBI, three runs, and two doubles. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in hits. Another player making a difference was Alain Marquez, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
The victory got Ferguson back to even at 3-3-1. As for Columbus, their win bumped their record up to 7-1.
Ferguson's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Columbus has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.4 hits per game. It's a different story for Ferguson, though, as they've been averaging 8.7 hits. Given Columbus' sizable advantage in that area, Ferguson will need to find a way to close that gap.
Columbus took their victory against Ferguson in their previous matchup back in April of 2019 by a conclusive 10-0. Does Columbus have another victory up their sleeve, or will Ferguson turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
