The Columbus Explorers will face off against the Florida Christian Patriots at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Columbus is headed out to face Florida Christian after opening their season at home and giving their fans just what they were looking for. Columbus came out on top in a nail-biter against Mater Academy Charter on Thursday, sneaking past 4-2. The Explorers haven't had any issues with the Lions recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive win against them.
Mathew Rios tossed a big game, tossing 5.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. That's the fewest hits he has allowed since back in April of 2024.
Maximus Alvarez
| 02/13/25 vs Mater Academy Charter | 2 |
| 04/08/24 vs Spanish River | 1 |
| 04/05/24 vs South Dade | 1 |
| 04/03/24 vs Key West | 1 |
| 04/01/24 @ Mater Academy Charter | 1 |
On the hitting side, Maximus Alvarez was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in RBI. Another player making a difference was Jose Correa, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Florida Christian was able to grind out a solid victory over Gulliver Prep on Thursday, taking the game 13-10.
Alexi Ramirez looked comfortable as he struck out seven batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off three hits.
At the plate, Ethan Jimenez was a standout: he scored four runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Michael Plasencia, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Columbus beat Florida Christian 6-1 in their previous matchup back in April of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Columbus 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
