The Columbus Explorers will face off against the Gulliver Prep Raiders at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Columbus has seven straight victories, Gulliver Prep has eight straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Columbus' pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Wednesday. They put the hurt on Ferguson with a sharp 10-0 win. The Explorers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won seven contests by six runs or more this season.
Samuel Alonso
| 03/05/25 vs Ferguson | 0 |
| 02/27/25 @ Southwest | 1 |
| 02/14/25 @ Florida Christian | 1 |
Samuel Alonso tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out seven over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Matthew Fernandez was a standout: he scored a run while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in doubles (two). Mario Magana was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Columbus was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .310 or higher in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Gulliver Prep didn't have quite enough to beat Monsignor Pace on Tuesday and fell 7-6.
Justin Parson was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Enzo Paesano, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
Columbus pushed their record up to 8-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Gulliver Prep, their loss dropped their record down to 0-7.
Gulliver Prep's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Columbus has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .482. It's a different story for Gulliver Prep, though, as they've only averaged .362. Will they be able to contain Columbus' hitters? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
