The Cactus Shadows Falcons will face off against the Eastmark Firebirds at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Cactus Shadows will be coming into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.
Cactus Shadows is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Combs get on the board and left with a 24-0 win on Thursday. Considering the Falcons have won seven matches by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Dallas Dunn
| 03/20/25 @ Combs | 8 |
| 04/03/24 vs Horizon | 5 |
| 02/24/24 vs Horizon | 4 |
| 03/01/25 vs Basha | 3 |
| 04/16/24 vs Chaparral | 3 |
Dallas Dunn looked comfortable as he struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and only one walk). Those eight strikeouts gave him a new career-high.
At the plate, Dominic Ziccarelli was a standout: he got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four runs, four RBI, and one triple. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in runs. Another player making a difference was Owen Konerko, who got on base in all five of his plate appearances with three runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Cactus Shadows was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .500. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .357 or higher in four consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Wednesday just wasn't the day for Eastmark's offense. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Arcadia on Wednesday. That's two games in a row now that the Firebirds have lost by exactly four runs.
Keanu Mortenson was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Eastmark saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Matthew Kee, who went 1-for-3 with one stolen base.
Cactus Shadows' victory bumped their record up to 9-0-1. As for Eastmark, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-5.
Eastmark's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday. Cactus Shadows has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Eastmark, though, as they've been averaging only 3.6 strikeouts. Will Cactus Shadows keep running through batters, or will Eastmark buck the trend? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
