Thatcher had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 9.5 runs), and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They came out on top against the Empire Ravens by a score of 4-1. This was payback for Thatcher, who suffered an 8-2 loss the last time these two teams met.
Landon Rios spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up six Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in four consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Landon Duncan was excellent, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
On Empire's side, Ian Lemus put in work while hitting and pitching. He tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also only allowed one walk). Lemus was also solid in the batter's box, going 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
In other pitching news, RJ Friend was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up four earned runs off six hits.
Even though they lost, Empire didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 12 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Thatcher only tossed six.
Thatcher now has a winning record of 9-8-1. As for Empire, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 8-12.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Thatcher will take on Sahuarita at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Empire, they will stay at home for another game and welcome Willcox at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
