vs
| 04/04/24 - Home | 8-2 W |
| 04/06/23 - Away | 15-1 W |
| 03/10/16 - Home | 13-1 W |
Empire is a perfect 3-0 against Willcox since March of 2016 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. Empire will be playing in front of their home fans against Willcox at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Empire took a loss when they played away from home on Monday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. Their pitchers stepped up to hand Pima a 3-0 shutout.
Empire saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Chance Bird, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
Empire hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pima struck out ten times.
Meanwhile, Willcox came into Thursday's contest having lost four straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They blew past Morenci 11-2 on Thursday.
Jahyir Reyes made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over six innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. Reyes was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-5 with one home run, two runs, and one double. Willcox is 3-1 when Reyes posts two or more runs, but 1-7-1 otherwise.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Asher Ward, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Anthony Morales, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one double.
Empire's victory bumped their record up to 6-9. As for Willcox, their win bumped their record up to 4-8-1.
Everything went Empire's way against Willcox when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Empire made off with an 8-2 victory. Does Empire have another victory up their sleeve, or will Willcox turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
