The Columbia City Eagles will face off against the Huntington North Vikings at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a six-game winning streak alive.
Columbia City will bounce into Thursday's match after beating Bellmont, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Eagles walked away with a 7-4 win over the Braves on Tuesday.
Carter Wilkinson
| 04/29/25 vs Bellmont | 1 |
| 04/28/25 vs Homestead | 1 |
| 04/26/25 vs West Noble | 2 |
Columbia City saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Carter Wilkinson, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run. Wilkinson has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Gavin Trickle was another, earning two runs and two stolen bases.
While Huntington North didn't have the best season last year (they finished 5-17), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They came out on top against East Noble by a score of 6-2 on Tuesday.
Brayden Gearhart tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out eight over six innings pitched. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on James Linker, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. That's the most runs he has posted since back in April.
Columbia City's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-3. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.3 runs over those games. As for Huntington North, their victory bumped their record up to 9-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Columbia City has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Huntington North struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Columbia City was able to grind out a solid win over Huntington North in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, winning 9-4. Do the Eagles have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Vikings turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
