Awaken Christian hasn't had much luck against Needles recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Awaken Christian Lions will head out to square off against the Needles Mustangs at 1:00 p.m. One thing working in Awaken Christian's favor is that they have posted at least ten runs every time they've taken the field this season.
While Awaken Christian didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-8), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They put the hurt on Beaver Dam with a sharp 21-3 win on Friday. The game marked the Lions' most dominant victory of the season so far.
Margaux Burney was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Burney was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing Two bases. while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
Kaylee Rasmussen
| 03/14/25 @ Beaver Dam | 4 |
| 03/12/25 vs Indian Springs | 3 |
| 03/12/25 vs Indian Springs | 2 |
| 04/19/24 @ Lake Mead Christian Academy | 2 |
| 03/14/25 @ Beaver Dam | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kaylee Rasmussen, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, four stolen bases, and four runs. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in stolen bases. Candy Zeng also deserves some recognition as she snagged her first stolen base of the season.
Awaken Christian was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .529. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .429 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, Needles is ranked highly in their home state and on Tuesday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Pahrump Valley. Needles came out on top against Pahrump Valley by a score of 25-21. The win continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Trojans: they've now won seven in a row.
Emmerson Powell was incredible, going 6-for-7 with one home run, six runs, and two triples. Scotti Powell was another key player, going 4-for-6 with three runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Awaken Christian pushed their record up to 4-0 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 14.5 runs. As for Needles, their record is now 7-5.
Awaken Christian's speedy runners might be the difference in Friday's match. Awaken Christian has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 10 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Needles, though, as they've been averaging only 1.2 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Awaken Christian continue to outrun the ball?
Awaken Christian might still be hurting after the 15-0 defeat they got from Needles when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can Awaken Christian avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
