Baseball Game Preview: Eastern Comets vs. Clinton Central Bulldogs

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Previous Games

05/06/24 - Home	1-0 W
05/11/23 - Away	4-2 W
05/11/22 - Home	10-0 W
05/10/22 - Away	11-3 W
05/12/21 - Away	2-3 L
+ 5 more games

Eastern is 8-2 against Clinton Central since May of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Comets will head out on the road to take on the Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. Eastern is coming into the contest hot, having won their last four games.

Eastern's pitching crew heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They walked away with a 4-0 win over Carroll.

Meanwhile, Clinton Central hadn't done well against Carroll recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Wednesday. The Bulldogs came out on top against the Cougars by a score of 10-6. Considering the Bulldogs' hitters had been struggling lately, the high-scoring outing was a much-needed turnaround.

Dillon Heaton was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 12 batters over seven innings while giving up five earned runs off nine hits (and only one walk). He also tossed a walk, which is notable because Clinton Central is 2-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 6-7 otherwise. Heaton was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

In other batting news, Clinton Central got a massive performance out of Carson O'Brien, who went 3-for-5 with five RBI and two doubles. Those five RBI gave O'Brien a new career-high. Cole Davison was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI.

Clinton Central hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. The team has now struck out at least five batters in five consecutive matchups.

The victory got Clinton Central back to even at 8-8. As for Eastern, their record now sits at 18-5.

Eastern came out on top in a nail-biter against Clinton Central in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, sneaking past 1-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Comets since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.