Baseball Recap: Empire Finds Home Field Redemption Against St. Augustine Catholic

There's no place like home for Empire, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Wednesday. They were the clear victors by an 11-4 margin over the St. Augustine Catholic Wolves on Thursday. The result was nothing new for the Ravens, who have now won four games by six runs or more so far this season.

Kaden Mercer made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over three innings while giving up three earned runs off four hits. That's the fewest hits he has allowed over his last three contests. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.

Zackary Breinlinger

Runs (Career)

03/20/25 vs St. Augustine Catholic	2
03/19/25 @ Sahuarita	1
03/18/25 vs Tombstone	1
03/11/25 vs Flagstaff	1
03/04/25 vs Coolidge	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Zackary Breinlinger, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. Brady Carey was another key player, scoring a run and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.

Empire always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

The win snapped Empire's losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 5-8 record. As for St. Augustine Catholic, they dropped their record down to 1-8 with the loss, which was their tenth straight on the road dating back to last season.

Empire has already played their next match, a 9-4 defeat against Florence on the 24th. As for St. Augustine Catholic, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next game, a 19-2 victory against Santa Rita on the 24th.