It may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Empire ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They won by a run and slipped past the Safford Bulldogs 8-7. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Empire.
Jeremy Watson looked comfortable as he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also only allowed one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Asher Bird, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs and a triple. Ben Savage was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-4.
On Safford's side, Izaiah Alvarado put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (he also only allowed one walk). Alvarado was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 1-for-5.
Alvarado wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Cole Goodman, who scored two runs while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Carlos Arbizo, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Empire is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a massive bump to their 8-10 record this season. As for Safford, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 9-5.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Empire will take on Sabino at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Safford, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Pueblo at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Safford is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 9.8 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
