Baseball Recap: Empire Picks Up Tenth Consecutive Win

Bulldogs

Margin (Wins)

03/06/26 vs Rush Springs	15
03/06/26 @ Rush Springs	15
03/06/26 vs Maysville	13
04/02/26 vs Big Pasture	12
04/09/26 vs Turner	10

Empire came tearing into Thursday's game with nine straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.1 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Temple Tigers with a sharp 10-2 win. Considering the Bulldogs have won 13 contests by more than six runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

Francisco Garcia and Bryce Shaver made a big impact no matter where they played. Throwing, Garcia struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. Meanwhile, Shaver tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those seven strikeouts gave Garcia a new career-high. At bat, Garcia went 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI, while Shaver went 3-for-4 with five stolen bases, three runs, and one double. Shaver is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games he's played.

In other batting news, Empire got a big performance out of Billy Bunn, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and one run. Bunn has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played. Dax Hecox was another key player, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs.

Empire always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .515. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive matchups.

Empire's victory bumped their record up to 19-5. As for Temple, their defeat was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 4-9.

Looking ahead, Empire will host Ryan at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Temple does not have any more games scheduled as of now.