The Willcox Cowboys will head out on the road to face off against the Empire Ravens at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Empire took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Willcox, who comes in off a win.
Willcox scored the most runs they've had all season to find success last Tuesday. Everything went their way against Santa Rita as Willcox made off with a 16-3 win. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for Willcox considering their two-run performance the match before.
Kaleb Cooke and Kash Macumber did most of the damage at the plate: Cooke scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Macumber went 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Jerry Reyes, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-1.
Meanwhile, Empire came up short against Thatcher on Wednesday and fell 4-1. Empire has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Ian Lemus was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also only allowed one walk). Lemus has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive pitching appearances. Lemus was also big at the plate, 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.
Willcox's victory bumped their record up to 7-8. As for Empire, their loss dropped their record down to 8-12.
Willcox might still be hurting after the 15-1 defeat they got from Empire when the teams last played back in April of 2023. Thankfully for Willcox, Thomas Bryant (who tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (he also didn't allow any walks)) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
