Baseball Game Preview: Central Eagles vs. Buford Yellow Jackets

Central hasn't had much luck against Buford recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Eagles will look to defend their home field against the Yellow Jackets at 6:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Central saw some tournament action on Friday. They lost 13-4 to Hartsville.

Cody Branham

Runs

04/10/26 @ Hartsville	2
03/17/26 vs Andrew Jackson	2
03/10/26 @ Chesterfield	2
03/03/26 vs Great Falls	2
04/08/26 @ Fort Mill	1
+ 8 more games

Cody Branham made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of Central's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 6-8 when he doesn't).

The home team had won the previous two meetings between Buford and Andrew Jackson, and Andrew Jackson kept the tradition alive. The Yellow Jackets wound up with the same score they had in their last game (3-2), but sadly the team found themselves on the wrong side of the score this time.

Gavin Love was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.7 strikeouts per game. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one home run.

Love wasn't the only one making solid contact as three players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Gavin Lowery, who went 2-for-3 with one double.

Central's defeat dropped their record down to 9-9. As for Buford, they now have a losing record of 7-8.

Central suffered a grim 11-3 defeat to Buford when the teams last played back in April of 2025. Can the Eagles avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.