Baseball Recap: East Valley Athletes for Christ Find Success

East Valley Athletes for Christ took a six-run loss the last time they faced off against Mission Heights Prep, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. The Eagles had just enough and edged out the Phantoms 5-4 on Tuesday. This was payback for the Eagles, who suffered a 6-0 defeat the last time these two teams met.

Cameron Marshall made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out eight batters over 6.2 innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off seven hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.

Antonio Barranca

Stolen Base

04/15/25 @ Mission Heights Prep	3
04/14/25 @ Heritage Academy Gateway	3
04/10/25 vs Imagine Prep Coolidge	1
04/09/25 @ Harvest Prep Academy	4
04/07/25 vs Heritage Academy Gateway	2
+ 3 more games

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Antonio Barranca, who scored two runs and stole three bases while going 3-for-4. He has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last eight times he's played. Daniel Grondin was another key player, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.

East Valley Athletes for Christ is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.2 runs over those games. As for Mission Heights Prep, their record is now 7-4-1.

East Valley Athletes for Christ and Mission Heights Prep should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Arizona Rankings. The Eagles will challenge Canyon State Academy at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday with a big rank advantage (62 vs. 244). Meanwhile, Mission Heights Prep (ranked 100th) will meet Harvest Prep Academy (ranked 201st) at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.