Preview: Empire Ravens vs. Pueblo Warriors
Empire is 5-0 against Pueblo since March of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Empire Ravens will head out on the road to square off against the Pueblo Warriors at 4:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Empire has three straight victories, Pueblo has three straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Empire put the finishing touches on their ninth blowout victory of the season on Monday. Everything went their way against Palo Verde as Empire made off with a 15-0 win.
Callie Ward made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (she also didn't allow any walks). Ward has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up a single walk in six consecutive pitching appearances. Ward was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-2.
In other batting news, Elizabeth Tanner was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Morgan Faunce was another key contributor, going 1-for-2 with two runs and a triple.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought contest, but Pueblo had to settle for a 4-3 defeat against Marana on Monday.
Belen Camacho spent all nine innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on seven hits.
At the plate, Alyssa Pallanes was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4.
Empire is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 12-7 record this season. As for Pueblo, their loss dropped their record down to 7-6.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Empire has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pueblo struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.1 per game. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Empire took their victory against Pueblo in their previous meeting back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 10-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Empire since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
