Baseball Game Preview: First Assembly Christian Crusaders vs. Evangelical Christian Eagles

The First Assembly Christian Crusaders will head out to square off against the Evangelical Christian Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.

First Assembly Christian is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 11 runs on Thursday, they were much more limited against Millington Central on Friday. They fell just short of the Trojans by a score of 3-2. The Crusaders' loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.

Jadan Santucci was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run over six innings pitched. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, First Assembly Christian saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ronin Badoud, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one run.

Meanwhile, it was close, but on Thursday Evangelical Christian sidestepped Covington for a 10-8 win. That's two games straight that the Eagles have won by exactly two runs.

Banks Addison was a standout: he got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two stolen bases, three RBI, and one run. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Bryce Terry, who went 4-for-5 with three stolen bases and one run.

Evangelical Christian has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.2 runs over those games. As for First Assembly Christian, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-15-1.

First Assembly Christian was able to grind out a solid win over Evangelical Christian in their previous matchup back in April of 2024, winning 5-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Crusaders since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.