Florence is 0-3 against Columbia since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Monday. The Florence Eagles will look to defend their home field against the Columbia Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. Florence is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 8 runs per game this season.
While Florence couldn't quite beat Richland on Saturday, the two-point margin was a huge improvement compared to the ten-point defeat they were dealt on Tuesday. Florence fell just short of Richland by a score of 8-6. Florence has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Ace McCallum was huge no matter where he played even without the win. On the mound, he tossed 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also only allowed one walk). McCallum was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 1-for-4.
McCallum wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Andrew Woods, who scored two runs while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Columbia can now show off ten landslide victories after their most recent match on Friday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand North Forrest a 10-0 shutout. Winning may never get old, but Columbia sure is getting used to it with their third in a row.
Lu Prejean looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also didn't allow any walks).
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Dillon Rowley, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-1. Lane Robertson was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-2.
Florence's loss dropped their record down to 16-11. As for Columbia, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 16-9 record this season.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Florence has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.4 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Columbia struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.8. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Florence suffered a grim 12-2 defeat to Columbia in their previous meeting on Tuesday. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Columbia's MT Breland, who didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Now that Florence knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
