Orem hasn't had much luck against Desert Hills recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Orem Tigers will hit the road for the first time this season to take on the Desert Hills Thunder at 6:30 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
On Tuesday, Orem needed a bit of extra time to put away Cyprus. They had just enough and edged out the Pirates 5-4.
Kai Wesley looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over four innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Orem let Merrick Bostock and Zach Engemann run wild. Bostock got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases and one RBI, while Engemann scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Those two runs gave Engemann a new career-high. Cy Berge was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.
Orem was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .444. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Cyprus only posted a batting average of .258.
Meanwhile, Desert Hills is still undefeated this season after their game against Canyon View on Tuesday, but Canyon View came as close as anyone has to beating them. Desert Hills came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 10-9 W against Canyon View. That's two games straight that the Thunder have won by just one run.
Haigen Reed was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing Three bases. while going 3-for-4. Stoakli Tate also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.
Desert Hills' victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.1 runs over those games. As for Orem, the win got them back to even at 1-1.
Orem came up short against Desert Hills in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, falling 5-2. Can Orem avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
