The Empire Ravens are taking a road trip to face off against the Desert Christian Eagles at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Empire is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.
It was a Battle of the Birds when Empire challenged Thatcher on Wednesday. The Ravens took a 7-2 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Eagles.
Empire saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Asher Bird, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Desert Christian got themselves on the board against St. Augustine Catholic on Tuesday, but St. Augustine Catholic never followed suit. They were the clear victors by a 15-0 margin over the Wolves. Considering the Eagles have won six matchups by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Caden Esquerra made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Desert Christian is 5-2 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 4-8 otherwise. Esquerra was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double.
In other batting news, Desert Christian got a massive performance out of Ethan Craig, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI, two doubles, and one run. Those three hits gave Craig a new career-high. Another player making a difference was James Harris, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one stolen base.
Desert Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .519. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Desert Christian has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games. That's provided a massive bump to their 9-10 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Empire, they now have a losing record of 12-13.
Everything went Empire's way against Desert Christian in their previous meeting back in February of 2022, as Empire made off with a 14-4 win. Do the Ravens have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Eagles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
