The Columbia City Eagles will square off against the Tippecanoe Valley Vikings at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Columbia City is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Fairfield a 10-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won nine contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Emma Hiss made a splash while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out seven over five innings pitched. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 17 consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, firing off two home runs while going 2-for-2. That's the most home runs she has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Kendyl Sattison and Hanna Maggard did most of the damage at the plate: Sattison went 1-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI, while Maggard went 1-for-2 with three RBI and one double. That's the most RBI Maggard has posted since back in April. The team also got some help courtesy of Lacie Friend, who went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one run.
Meanwhile, Tippecanoe Valley hadn't done well against NorthWood recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Vikings put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 13-1 win.
Tippecanoe Valley let Kahlyn Manns and Malaynie Costello run wild. Manns went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one double, while Costello went 2-for-4 with two runs, two doubles, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Mackaylie Costello, who went 2-for-3 with three runs.
Tippecanoe Valley was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .393. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Tippecanoe Valley's record now sits at 12-10. As for Columbia City, they have been performing well recently as they've won 13 of their last 16 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-5 record this season.
Columbia City came out on top in a nail-biter against Tippecanoe Valley when the teams last played back in May of 2024, sneaking past 1-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Eagles since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
