The Brookstone Cougars will challenge the Columbus Blue Devils at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Brookstone sitting on five straight wins and Columbus on three.
Brookstone had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 13-run drubbing they dealt Shaw on Wednesday. Brookstone put the hurt on Shaw with a sharp 14-1 victory. The result was nothing new for the Cougars, who have now won seven contests by ten runs or more so far this season.
Gray Jones
| 03/26/25 vs Shaw | 5 |
| 03/12/25 @ Shaw | 2 |
| 03/06/25 @ Marion County | 2 |
| 04/09/24 vs Heritage | 2 |
| 03/21/25 vs St. Anne-Pacelli | 1 |
Brookstone got a massive performance out of Gray Jones, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run and five RBI. Those five RBI gave Jones a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Maxwell Jones, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI, two runs, and one double.
Brookstone was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Columbus posted their closest win since February 15th on Tuesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with an 11-10 victory over Hardaway.
Axel Serra was excellent, going 1-for-2 with one home run and two RBI. That home run marked the first that he launched this season. David Scott Livingston was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-1.
Columbus' win bumped their record up to 12-9. As for Brookstone, they pushed their record up to 12-2 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Brookstone has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Columbus struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 6.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went Brookstone's way against Columbus in their previous matchup back in February, as Brookstone made off with a 12-1 win. Will Brookstone repeat their success, or does Columbus has a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
