Coral Gables is 1-9 against Columbus since March of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Cavaliers will square off against the Explorers at 3:30 p.m. Coral Gables is coming into the match hot, having won their last five games.
Coral Gables is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Ferguson 3-2. Surprisingly, this marked the seventh straight game that the away team has come away the victor.
The team relied heavily on Timothy Negron, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Jake Wolfson was another key player, going 3-for-4 with one RBI.
Coral Gables was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .444. The last time their batting average was this high was back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, Columbus never let their opponents score on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Miami with a sharp 10-0 victory. Considering the Explorers have won 11 games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Columbus also got a great performance from Samuel Alonso as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Alonso has been consistent : he hasn't given up more than two hits in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Maximus Alvarez and Rafael Diaz did most of the damage at the plate: Alvarez scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances, while Diaz scored two runs while going 2-for-2. That's the most runs Diaz has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Mario Magana, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Columbus has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 22-5 record this season. As for Coral Gables, they now have a winning record of 12-11-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Coral Gables has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Columbus struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Coral Gables might still be hurting after the 14-1 loss they got from Columbus when the teams last played back in February. Can the Cavaliers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
