The Columbus Blue Devils will challenge the Auburn Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Columbus took a loss when they played away from home on Tuesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They won by a run and slipped past Northside 2-1. The Blue Devils haven't had any issues with the Patriots recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Michael Nottleman made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single earned run, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double. Those two RBI gave him a new career-high.
Jamari Blackmon
| 02/15/25 vs Northside | 2 |
| 02/11/25 @ Newnan | 1 |
| 03/19/24 @ Harris County | 1 |
| 03/16/24 vs Carver | 1 |
| 02/22/24 @ LaGrange | 1 |
Nottleman wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jamari Blackmon, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance also gave Blackmon a new career-high in hits (two).
Meanwhile, everything went Auburn's way against Dothan on Saturday as Auburn made off with a 16-3 victory.
Will Whatley was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was JB Upton, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with one home run, three runs, and four RBI.
The win got Auburn back to even at 1-1. As for Columbus, they pushed their record up to 1-2 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season.
Columbus came up short against Auburn when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 8-4. Will Columbus have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
