The West Memphis Christian Black Knights are taking a road trip to face off against the Calhoun Academy Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.
West Memphis Christian's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. Everything went their way against Byhalia as West Memphis Christian made off with a 16-0 victory. With that win, the Black Knights brought their scoring average up to 7 runs per game.
Caleb Atkins looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Deagan Davis was a standout: he scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Those stolen bases marked the first that he's stole this season. Eli Ford was another key player, going 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs.
West Memphis Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .593. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Byhalia only posted an OBP of .200.
Meanwhile, the third road matchup was the charm for Calhoun Academy, as they earned their first road win of the season. They blew past Columbus Christian Academy 12-2 on Tuesday. The Cougars' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Carsen Stegall made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 16 batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, Layton Logan was incredible, scoring five runs and stealing a base while going 4-for-4. Those five runs gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Lane Watts, who scored two runs while going 2-for-5.
The victory made it two in a row for West Memphis Christian and bumps their season record up to 2-2. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.0 runs over those games. As for Calhoun Academy, the win was their first on the road , bumping their record up to 2-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. West Memphis Christian has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Calhoun Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.4 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Everything went West Memphis Christian's way against Calhoun Academy in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, as West Memphis Christian made off with a 17-5 victory. Does West Memphis Christian have another victory up their sleeve, or will Calhoun Academy turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
