Ezekiel Academy is a perfect 10-0 against East Central HomeSchool since April of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Monday. The Ezekiel Academy Knights will head out to challenge the East Central HomeSchool Patriots at 7:00 p.m. Ezekiel Academy has given up an average of 11.8 runs per game this season, so hopefully the team got some pitching drills in this week.
Ezekiel Academy managed to slip by Heritage Christian the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. Ezekiel Academy lost 11-1 to Heritage Christian on Tuesday. The Knights have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Jude Easterling
| 03/18/25 vs Heritage Christian | 1 |
| 03/17/25 vs Evangel Christian | 0 |
| 03/14/25 vs East Central HomeSchool | 2 |
Jude Easterling was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out six batters over six innings while giving up four earned (and two unearned) runs off ten hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Ezekiel Academy saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Zeke Mills, who went 2-for-3 with one double. That's the most hits Mills has posted since back in April of 2024.
East Central HomeSchool played in-conference for the first time on Thursday and they got just the result they were looking for. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Tuscaloosa Home Educators, sneaking past 4-2. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Patriots.
Andrew Barksdale was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off 12 hits. Barksdale was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with two stolen bases and one RBI. East Central HomeSchool is undefeated when Barksdale posts two or more stolen bases, but 1-4 otherwise.
In other batting news, Barrett Weems was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. That triple marked the first that he hit this season.
East Central HomeSchool's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-4. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to hits: they averaged an imposing 10.33 hits in those games compared to only 5.43 in the others. As for Ezekiel Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-11.
Ezekiel Academy came out on top in a nail-biter against East Central HomeSchool when the teams last played on Friday, sneaking past 4-3. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ezekiel Academy since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
