The Columbia Wildcats will head out on the road to challenge the Loyd Star Hornets at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Columbia will be strutting in after a win while Loyd Star will be coming in after a defeat.
Columbia is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past East Marion 22-1 on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Wildcats in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won four in a row.
Joseph White looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Columbia got a massive performance out of Dillon Rowley, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-3. That's the most runs Rowley has posted since back in March. JP Haddox was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.
Columbia always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .690. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Loyd Star unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell 8-5 to West Lincoln.
Mason Smith was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 1-for-2.
Columbia's win bumped their record up to 14-9. As for Loyd Star, their loss dropped their record down to 12-9.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Columbia has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Loyd Star struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Columbia took their victory against Loyd Star when the teams last played back in February by a conclusive 12-3 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Wildcats since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps