The David Emanuel Academy Eagles will square off against the Westwood Wildcats at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday. David Emanuel Academy is coming into the game hot, having won their last five games.
David Emanuel Academy took a seven-run loss the last time they faced off against Edmund Burke Academy, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Eagles narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Spartans 6-5.
Cooper Riner was excellent, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. Gannon Smith was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Westwood rose to the challenge on Friday. They never let the Rams get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won seven contests by eight runs or more so far this season.
Cade Swilley made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Westwood is 8-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 6-8 otherwise. Swilley was also big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
In other batting news, Liam Rogers was a standout: he got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Karson Barwick, who got on base in all five of his plate appearances with four runs and two stolen bases.
Westwood was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .400. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Westwood is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 12 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-9 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.9 runs over those games. As for David Emanuel Academy, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 16-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. David Emanuel Academy hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.5 home runs per game. However, it's not like Westwood struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.4 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
