The Desert Christian Eagles will take on the Empire Ravens at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Desert Christian is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.7 runs per game this season.
Desert Christian's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They put the hurt on St. Augustine Catholic with a sharp 15-0 win. The Eagles haven't had any issues with the Wolves recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Caden Esquerra made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Desert Christian is 5-2 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 4-8 otherwise. Esquerra was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one double.
Ethan Craig
| 04/22/25 @ St. Augustine Catholic | 3 |
| 04/01/25 @ San Miguel | 2 |
| 03/27/25 vs Santa Rita | 2 |
| 03/03/25 vs Benson | 2 |
| 04/27/24 vs El Capitan/Centennial Academy | 2 |
In other batting news, Desert Christian got a massive performance out of Ethan Craig, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI, two doubles, and one run. Those three hits gave Craig a new career-high. Another player making a difference was James Harris, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, one triple, and one stolen base.
Desert Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .562. They are a perfect 5-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, it was a Battle of the Birds when Empire challenged Thatcher on Wednesday. The Ravens fell 7-2 to the Eagles.
Empire saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Asher Bird, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
Empire now has a losing record of 12-13. As for Desert Christian, their win bumped their record up to 9-10.
Desert Christian might still be hurting after the 14-4 defeat they got from Empire in their previous matchup back in February of 2022. Will the Eagles have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
