The Columbus Explorers will head out on the road to take on the West Broward Bobcats at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average, (Columbus: 2.8, West Broward: 3) so any runs scored will be well earned.
Columbus is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They beat Western by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 3-2. Winning may never get old, but Columbus sure is getting used to it with their third in a row.
Mathew Rios tossed a big game, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off six hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in six consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Columbus saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jose Correa, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Meanwhile, West Broward's hitters rose to the challenge against a Trojans pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.3 runs allowed on Tuesday. West Broward blew past Taravella 10-0. The win was familiar territory for West Broward who now have five in a row.
Not much got past Jean Paul Querales, who gave up just six hits to keep Taravella off the board.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jason Wachs, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with a home run, three runs, and four RBI. He continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Lindor, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and a stolen base.
Columbus has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 12 of their last 14 games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-6 record this season. As for West Broward, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 22-5-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Friday as neither team is afraid to steal. Columbus has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like West Broward struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.9. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Columbus beat West Broward 7-2 in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Columbus since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
