The Douglas Bulldogs will take on the Flagstaff Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Douglas is probably headed into the contest with a chip on their shoulder considering Eastmark just ended the team's seven-game winning streak on Saturday. They took a 4-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Firebirds.
Meanwhile, Flagstaff came tearing into Monday's game with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 3.7 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Bulldogs a 15-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Eagles, who have now won nine matches by seven runs or more so far this season.
DJ Faust made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (four). He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
In other batting news, Flagstaff got a massive performance out of Brody Johnson, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. That's the most RBI Johnson has posted since back in March. Payne Lowry was another key player, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one triple, two RBI, and one run.
Flagstaff was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .565. They are 12-1 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Flagstaff's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-9. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.8 runs over those games. As for Douglas, their loss dropped their record down to 15-9-1.
Wednesday's contest will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Douglas hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .351. However, it's not like Flagstaff struggles in that department as they've averaged .364. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Douglas beat Flagstaff 6-3 in their previous meeting back in March of 2022. Do the Bulldogs have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Eagles turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
