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Israel Preparing Attack On Iranian Energy Sites, Awaits US Approval: Report

· NDTV

The comments came after US President Donald Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum.

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Arsenal must wake up or there will be nothing to celebrate this season

· Yahoo Sports

Arsenal players cut dejected figures after losing 2-1 to Southampton at St Mary’s - Matthew Childs/Reuters

In the space of 180 minutes, Arsenal’s dream of a quadruple has been obliterated so thoroughly that it has been reduced to a double. Two matches have cost them a shot at two trophies, and this FA Cup loss by Southampton was every bit as dismal as their Carabao Cup final defeat by Manchester City two weeks ago.

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The international break was supposed to soothe Arsenal’s pain after that Wembley defeat but now they will feel even worse, having been deservedly beaten by Championship opposition. Mikel Arteta’s side had plenty of the ball but they rarely showed the same clarity of thought, and indeed the same composure in the penalty box as their supposedly lesser opponents.

There can be no hiding from the reality for Arsenal: this dip in form must be addressed immediately, or there will be nothing to celebrate this season. The Champions League awaits in midweek and there are still no guarantees in the Premier League, despite their lead over City. If they continue to play like this, they will undoubtedly be caught in the league.

How Southampton delighted in this unexpected victory, with Ross Stewart and Shea Charles both producing classy finishes, either side of a Viktor Gyokeres goal for Arsenal. Southampton were aggressive when they could be, energetic throughout and boisterously supported by a fanbase that rightly believed from the first minute to the last.

More to follow...

10:30pm

Post-match thoughts of Mikel Arteta

“We have to congratulate Southampton, they are going to Wembley and we are not. The team had some very good moments. We did not capitalise on those moments, and the way we conceded the goals is not at the level we have shown. That is the reason we have lost the game.”

10:29pm

Shea Charles speaking to TNT Sports

10:19pm

Post-match thoughts of Southampton boss Tonda Eckert

10:17pm

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown on TNT Sports

10:15pm

Southampton’s matchwinner Shea Charles talking to the BBC

“I got told to come on and take hold of the game, try and keep the ball for a bit. But to score, that is special. When it came to me, I am not a striker, I just thought to find the corner. It feels like it could be a special end to the season.” 

Shea Charles scored the winner for Southampton with only a few minutes of normal time remaining - Steven Paston/PA10:11pm

Ross Stewart, who scored Southampton’s first tonight, speaking to the BBC

“Incredible night. Celebrations are mad. Unbelievable night for the club. We believed we could do it, and it was a great result. I give credit to the manager. Tactically, he has been incredible since he came in. 

“We limited Arsenal to shots from long range. We knew Arsenal would high press, and felt like a lot of the time our out ball would be that release pass. It was about getting that balance of when to go short and long. 

“We caused them problems, and I thought we had a great out ball all night. We showed a constant threat.”

Ross Stewart got Southampton going tonight - Mike Hewitt/Getty Images10:06pm

Arsenal’s next five fixtures

April 7: Sporting vs Arsenal (Champions League)
April 11: Arsenal vs Bournemouth (Premier League)
April 15: Arsenal vs Sporting (Champions League)
April 19: Manchester City vs Arsenal (Premier League)
April 25: Arsenal vs Newcastle (Premier League)

Arsenal’s defeats in their last two games have been costly, one in the League Cup final and then tonight in the FA Cup quarter-finals. In the space of 180 minutes, they have gone from competing for four trophies to two.

10:02pm

Alan Shearer on the BBC

“Southampton deserve their trip to Wembley. They were absolutely magnificent and the job that Tonda Eckert has done, what a night for them.

“They still had the belief that they could go on and win this game and they did. This is not a fluke. Thoroughly deserved. What a job that Eckert has done, the belief that he has given this football club from where they were to where they are now.

“Another trip to Wembley for them.”

10:01pm

Quarter-final ties

Today:
Manchester City 4 Liverpool 0
Chelsea 7 Port Vale 0
Southampton 2 Arsenal 1 

Tomorrow:
West Ham vs Leeds

09:58pm

FT stats

Possession: Southampton 36%-64% Arsenal
Shots: 8-23
Shots on target: 4-7
Corners: 4-9
Touches in opposition box: 20-60

09:54pm

Full time

There is the final whistle and Southampton knock Premier League leaders Arsenal out. Goals from Stewart and Charles have led Southampton to the FA Cup semi-finals. In the space of two games, Arsenal have gone from an assault on all four trophies to now just two.

Que Sera, Sera rings around St. Mary’s on a famous night for Southampton.

09:52pm

90+5 mins: Southampton 2 Arsenal 1

Fellows is denied by Arrizabalaga and the ball goes behind for a Southampton corner with under a minute remaining.

09:52pm

90+4 mins: Southampton 2 Arsenal 1

Arsenal are awarded a free-kick before Martinelli just shoves the referee. Rightly so the Brazilian is booked as that was completely unnecessary.

Calafiori ends up having a shot from the edge of the box but blazes it high over the bar. Southampton are under two minutes away from the semi-finals.

09:50pm

90+3 mins: Southampton 2 Arsenal 1

The home faithful inside St. Mary’s are making their voices heard with just three added minutes left.

09:49pm

90+2 mins: Southampton 2 Arsenal 1

Martinelli drives through the Southampton half down Arsenal’s left and cuts inside onto his right to get his shot away inside the penalty area but it is a fairly simple save for Peretz.

09:48pm

90+1 mins: Southampton 2 Arsenal 1

Gyokeres takes and his effort hits the wall.

09:47pm

90 mins: Southampton 2 Arsenal 1

There will be six added minutes as Gyokeres and Madueke stand over the free-kick...

09:46pm

89 mins: Southampton 2 Arsenal 1

How many added minutes are we going to get? You would think around five minutes.

Dowman drives through the Southampton half and is brought down by Jander, who is booked.

09:42pmKey moments • Goals • Video

GOAL! Southampton back in front through Charles

The hosts took the lead earlier, then were pegged back but now lead with five minutes of normal time remaining. Fellows cuts inside from the right and lays it across the box to Charles, who picks out the bottom corner with a clinical finish. Southampton are no more than 10 minutes including added time away from the semi-finals.

09:41pm

84 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

Space opens up for Martinelli to get his shot away from the edge of the box but the Brazilian drags his effort just wide.

09:41pm

83 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

Dowman receives a pass from Norgaard and has the chance to shoot from the edge of the box. The 16-year-old opens up his body and curls one towards the far corner, with Peretz making a good save diving to his right.

09:39pmAnalysis

82 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

As the minutes tick by with this game level, the chances of going to extra time increases, which Arsenal would ideally want to avoid with a trip to Lisbon to come on Tuesday to face Sporting in the Champions League.

Both teams have big matches on Tuesday (Southampton against Wrexham, Arsenal against Sporting CP) and neither will like the idea of extra time. I wonder if we might see a little more adventurousness in the final 10 minutes as a result. 

09:35pm

78 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

White brings down Edozie but still has not been booked.

A final Arsenal change see Zubimendi replace Havertz.

09:33pm

75 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

Change for the home side as Charles replaces Bragg.

09:31pm

74 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

Fellows stands up a dangerous cross from the right side of the box to the far post, where White is forced to put it behind for a Southampton corner. Kepa gets a glove to the delivery before Madueke clears.

09:29pm

72 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

Gabriel has gone down and it appears his night is over. Saliba, who like Gabriel missed the international break, is coming on.

09:27pm

70 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

Double change for Southampton as Larin and Edozie replace Stewart and Scienza.

09:27pm

69 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

Southampton will rue some of those missed chances not long before Arsenal equalised.

09:24pmKey moments • Goals • Video

GOAL! Gyokeres equalises for Arsenal

The Premier League leaders are back on level terms. Havertz is played in after a clinical forward pass from Gabriel. Havertz then cuts it back into the path of Gyokeres, who finishes first time into the far corner. Could Southampton keeper Peretz have come out of his goal to make it harder for Havertz and make the German come to a decision faster?

Five goals in three games for club and country for Gyokeres, who was the hero for Sweden in the international break. That’s the sort of movement that Jesus had failed to produce.

09:21pmAnalysis

64 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

Painfully ineffective performance by Gabriel Jesus tonight. He’s had the whole international break to prepare for this game, to get into his best shape and to remind Arsenal of his value. No surprise at all that he’s been hooked. 

09:19pmKey moments

62 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

Southampton hit the bar. Scienza, probably played onside by Calafiori, is played in down the left channel and cuts inside onto his right when gets into the penalty area. He curls one towards the far corner and the shot strikes the top of the bar. Southampton inches away from doubling their advantage.

09:18pm

61 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

Triple change for Arsenal as Gyokeres, Madueke and Calafiori come on. All three had interesting international breaks; Gyokeres helped Sweden qualify for the World Cup, Madueke went off injured for England whilst Calafiori’s Italy failed to qualify. Jesus, Odegaard and Lewis-Skelly head off.

09:17pmVideo

60 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

A chance for Southampton to double their lead after an Arsenal mistake. Mosquera plays a suicidal pass inside his own half, which Fellows intercepts. Fellows drives at Gabriel and gets his shot away with his right from just inside the box but he cannot keep his effort down and it goes over.

09:16pm

58 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

Southampton win themselves another corner as Mosquera is forced to head behind from a dangerous cross. Manning’s inswinger is sent into a good area but Arsenal deal with the danger.

09:14pm

57 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

Lewis-Skelly, who has had a poor night, is dispossessed inside the Southampton half and the hosts counter, with Fellows winning their first corner of the night off Gabriel. Scienza takes it short before getting the ball back. He then whips in a dangerous cross that is headed away.

09:13pm

55 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

Is Mikel Arteta thinking of making a change or two? Nothing looks particularly imminent.

09:10pm

52 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

Martinelli’s cross from the left comes all the way to Dowman beyond the far post. The 16-year-old fires a shot towards goal that is blocked.

09:08pm

50 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

Odegaard clips in a free-kick from the left and Jesus flicks it on with his head but it is an easy save for Peretz. Jesus was so far out from goal that he was never going to get enough power on it to trouble Peretz.

09:05pm

48 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

White brings down Scienza and is very fortunate not to be booked for cynically pulling Scienza’s shirt. White has not had a good night, being at fault for Southampton’s goal.

09:02pm

Second half

We are back under way at St. Mary’s. Can Southampton hold on to cause a shock by knocking out the Premier League leaders or will Arsenal fight back to keep their assault on three fronts alive? How soon may Mikel Arteta turn to his bench, with the likes of Gyokeres and Madueke on it?

08:54pm

Quarter-final ties

Today:
Manchester City 4 Liverpool 0
Chelsea 7 Port Vale 0
Southampton 1 Arsenal 0 HT

Tomorrow:
West Ham vs Leeds

08:50pm

HT stats

Possession: Southampton 33%-67% Arsenal
Shots: 3-12
Shots on target: 2-4
Corners: 0-7
Touches in opposition box: 13-40

08:47pm

Half-time

Norgaard takes a shot first time from the edge of the box but Peretz makes a comfortable save.

The first half is then brought to an end and Southampton lead 1-0 at the break thanks to Stewart’s goal.

08:46pm

45 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

There will be one added minute at the end of this first half.

08:43pm

42 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

Arsenal are rattled right now and Southampton could get another here. The home side have to pounce on this period and double their advantage when they have a great opportunity to do so.

08:39pm

39 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

The ball is whipped in but Havertz heads away from danger.

08:39pm

38 mins: Southampton 1 Arsenal 0

White is having a shocker at the moment as he brings Scienza down just outside the Arsenal box. Not a huge amount of contact to be honest but Southampton have a good chance of sending this into the Arsenal penalty area.

08:36pmKey moments • Goals • Video

GOAL! Stewart puts Southampton ahead

St. Mary’s erupts! The home side have caused Arsenal problems going forward and until this point had lacked the clinical edge but they take this chance. Bree is allowed to carry the ball a long way forward down Southampton’s right and he clips a cross towards the far post. White misjudges his jump and the ball goes over his head. Stewart takes one touch before firing past Arrizabalaga. Championship Southampton lead Premier League leaders Arsenal.

That’s a lovely finish by Stewart but it’s a goal that will disgust Arteta. It started with Odegaard backheeling the ball aimlessly, before White completely misjudged a simple cross. Back to back errors.

08:34pm

33 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

White takes a risk with a pass back to his keeper as Steward nearly intercepted in deep inside the Arsenal penalty area but Arrizabalaga just gets to it first.

08:32pm

31 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Arsenal are just starting to ramp up the pressure on Southampton as Havertz’s shot from the edge of the box takes a big deflection off Wood and goes just wide of the far post.

08:31pmAnalysis

30 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Arsenal are already up to six corners on the night and most of them have been taken short. It must have been something they have worked on but they have not created much from these short corners.

He fluffed his chance but Martin Odegaard is running this game now. The touches and flicks are coming off. Looks really sharp. 

08:29pm

29 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Dowman takes on an effort from the right side of the box but it is straight at Peretz.

08:27pm

27 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

The first booking of the game goes the way of the hosts as Manning brings Dowman down. There were no real complaints from Manning when the yellow card was shown.

08:27pmKey moments • Video

26 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Both sides have now butchered great opportunities, with Odegaard the man this time to waste a brilliant chance. Martinelli gets to the byline and cuts it back into the path of Odegaard on the penalty spot. It should be buried by the Arsenal captain but the Norwegian complete scuffs his effort and it goes wide.

08:25pm

25 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Odegaard takes aim from range but is denied by a fairly routine save from Peretz.

We are yet to see a goal but it has been an entertaining first 25 minutes of this tie.

08:22pmAnalysis

21 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Cristhian Mosquera provided yet another demonstration there of his extraordinary recovery pace, as Leo Scienza ran through on goal. The Arsenal defender is rapid in those long-distance sprints. It has been a real feature of his first season in English football. 

08:19pmKey moments • Video

18 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Scienza has butchered that and Southampton should be ahead. Gabriel gets a header on halfway all wrong and the ball comes off the back of his head. That presents a one-on-one chance for Scienza, who drives into the Arsenal box and tries taking it around Arrizabalaga. Scienza manages that but his touch is heavy and he slightly loses his balance, allowing Mosquera the chance to get back and steal the ball. Scienza had to score there; he probably should have just taken the shot.

08:16pm

15 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

It has been a pretty open and end-to-end start to this game. Southampton are not just parking the bus and getting every man behind the ball, they are taking the game to Arsenal and having some success doing so.

08:14pm

13 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

That is a waste from Azaz, who is picked out in space on the edge of the Arsenal box but his first touch is loose and then gives the ball away. Had the first touch been better, a good chance would have been forthcoming.

08:11pmAnalysis

11 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Arsenal are so open in midfield when they lose the ball. Those transition moments are where Declan Rice really dominates and I would say they are missing him so far tonight. Christian Norgaard has a lot of space to cover. 

08:11pm

10 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Odegaard plays a lovely ball over the top to pick out the run of Martinelli in behind. The Brazilian drives into the box and cuts inside onto his right before getting his shot away. It is blocked by Bree and loops behind for a corner.

Arsenal take it short and the ball is worked to the edge of the box, where Martinelli hits it first time towards the top corner. Southampton captain Harwood-Bellis is on hand to make a crucial block.

08:08pm

8 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Mikel Arteta has made the big call to start Arrizabalaga in goal ahead of his number one Raya. After Arrizabalaga had a tough game in the League Cup final before the international break, there is some surprise that Arteta has gone with him tonight.

08:07pm

6 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

A chance for 16-year-old Dowman as he skips past a Southampton defender on halfway and drives through the hosts’ half. As he approaches the penalty area, he opens up his body and tries to curl one into the far corner but the shot does not have enough power to trouble Peretz.

08:04pmKey moments • Video

3 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Is that a penalty for Southampton? The hosts break and Scienza is in acres of space to drive down the left. He drives into the box and cuts inside Gabriel who sticks out a leg. Scienza goes down but the appeals are waved away. That looked a good shout as Gabriel got none of the ball but VAR sticks with the original decision.

08:02pm

2 mins: Southampton 0 Arsenal 0

Fellows is found in space down Southampton’s right and drives into the Arsenal box. Gabriel, who pulled out of international duty with Brazil due to injury yet starts tonight, times his sliding challenge right and dispossesses Fellows. Good one-on-one defending from the Brazilian.

08:00pm

Kick-off

We are under way at St. Mary’s. Who will book their place in the semi-finals at Wembley; Southampton or Arsenal?

07:56pm

Nearly ready for action

Both sides emerge from the tunnel and we are moments away from kick-off at St. Mary’s. A reminder of how the sides line up tonight:

Southampton: Peretz, Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Manning, Bragg, Jander, Fellows, Azaz, Scienza, Stewart.
Substitutes: Long, Quarshie, Romeu, Charles, Edozie, Robinson, Archer, Oyekunle, Larin.

Arsenal: Arrizabalaga, White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Odegaard, Havertz, Dowman, Martinelli, Jesus.
Substitutes: Raya, Saliba, Gyokeres, Madueke, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Harriman-Annous, O’Neill, Salmon.

07:52pm

Mikel Arteta speaking to TNT Sports

07:49pm

Pre-match thoughts of Southampton boss Tonda Eckert

07:46pmAnalysis

Both Odegaard and Dowman start

I’m looking forward to seeing how Odegaard and Dowman combine on the right side of Arsenal’s attack tonight. Odegaard is the player who usually gets the best out of the right winger (normally Saka) but he has barely played with Dowman. Before tonight, they have only been on the pitch together for nine minutes all season, which was stoppage time away to Liverpool in August. 

As for Southampton, Leo Scienza is the man to watch. He’s the creative force.

07:33pm

Scienza starts for Southampton

Brazilian Leo Scienza is back in the Southampton starting XI - Matt Watson/Getty Images07:11pm

Dowman starts for Arsenal

Sixteen-year-old Max Dowman (centre) is in the Arsenal starting XI - David Price/Getty Images07:03pm

Arsenal starting XI

07:02pm

Southampton starting XI

07:01pm

Arsenal’s last five results

Arsenal 0 Manchester City 2 (League Cup) 
Arsenal 2 Bayer Leverkusen 0 (Champions League) 
Arsenal 2 Everton 0 (Premier League) 
Bayer Leverkusen 1 Arsenal 1 (Champions League) 
Mansfield 1 Arsenal 2 (FA Cup)

06:54pm

Southampton’s last five results

Southampton 2 Oxford 0 (Championship) 
Southampton 1 Norwich 0 (Championship) 
Coventry 1 Southampton 2 (Championship) 
West Brom 1 Southampton 1 (Championship) 
Fulham 0 Southampton 1 (FA Cup)

06:43pm

FA Cup quarter-final lineup

Today
Manchester City 4 Liverpool 0 (result)
Chelsea 7 Port Vale 0 (latest) 
Southampton vs Arsenal

Sunday
West Ham vs Leeds

06:30pm

Semi-final place on the line

A place in the FA Cup semi-finals is at stake down on the south coast as Championship Southampton host Premier League leaders Arsenal at St. Mary’s. Arsenal’s assault on all four fronts was ended just before the international break as they lost 2-0 to Manchester City in the League Cup final. They are still fighting on three fronts, nine points clear at the top of the Premier League whilst at the quarter-final stage of both the FA Cup and the Champions League. Mikel Arteta’s side have faced lower-league opposition in every round thus far, beating Portsmouth, Wigan and Mansfield to reach the final eight.

A total of 11 Arsenal players withdrew during the international break, including Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, who left the England camp midway through the break without playing.

“We have a very good relationship and communication with most of the national teams, certainly with [England manager] Thomas [Tuchel] too,” Mikel Arteta said. “We have been extremely supportive all the time. When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was. When you are fit and available to play for the national team, you have to play. It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team.

“Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it. You will see [how many of the players who withdrew during the international break will be involved]. I will let you do the speculation. You can judge afterwards. We are in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition. We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”

Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber are in contention to feature but Eberechi Eze is out with a calf injury.

Since finishing bottom of the Premier League last season, they have had a fairly chaotic season in the Championship. Will Still was sacked after just five months in charge and was replaced by Tonda Eckert, who took over with the club down near the bottom of the table. However, Eckert has helped turn their season around and they are now sixth in the Championship. They come into this game in a rich vein of form, unbeaten in their last 14 games in all competitions. They won 1-0 away at Fulham in the last round of the FA Cup to book their place in the quarter-finals.

These sides met on the final day of last season, with Arsenal winning 2-1 at St. Mary’s thanks to goals from Kieran Tierney and Odegaard. This is the sixth time these sides have met in the FA Cup, with Arsenal winning the first four of those ties but Southampton were the victors the last time these clubs met in this competition, winning 1-0 in the fourth round of the 2020/21 season. Team news to follow shortly.

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22 hits, 22 runs for Academy in district-opening win

· Yahoo Sports

In the end, the volume of Albuquerque Academy’s crooked numbers bested Hope Christian’s crooked numbers.

The Chargers and Huskies had a wild Friday afternoon and early evening at the Academy, with the teams combining for 29 hits — and a dozen errors — in the seventh-ranked Chargers’ eventual 20-10 District 6-4A victory over No. 6 Hope Christian.

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Nearly half of the 30 runs (14 of them) were unearned.

Academy scored 19 of its 20 runs in four innings, including seven in the third and six more in the sixth to enact the 10-run mercy rule. The game ended with sophomore shortstop Daniel Candelas, who had a huge day at the plate, scoring on a wild pitch.

It was one of those type of days.

Although Academy (10-5, 1-0 in 6-4A) was guilty of seven errors — most of them coming in a disastrous top of the fifth — the Chargers’ offense more than made up for the defensive shortcomings.

Not only did all of the Academy starters hit safely, remarkably eight of the nine starters had multiple-hit games. The relentless Chargers pounded out 22 hits against three Hope Christian pitchers.

“We’ve swung the bats pretty well all year,” Academy coach Chris Alexander said. “That was a good day for us.”

The aforementioned Candelas, in the 9-hole, had four hits and four RBIs for Academy. Right in front of him, No. 8-hole hitter, freshman Parker Hanson, added three hits and three RBIs.

Four Academy starters, including also junior outfielder Aiden Schum and sophomore third baseman Jace Gabaldon, had at least three hits on Friday.

“Our whole team can hit,” Alexander said. “This year, top to bottom, we’re pretty strong.”

The teams traded three-run spots early, Academy in the first, the Huskies (12-5, 1-1) in the top of the second.

Academy put up seven in the bottom of the third, highlighted by a two-run single to right by Schum, and the lead swelled to 10-3.

Schum added another RBI as the Chargers scored three more in the fourth, and were leading 13-3 and three outs from closing out the game.

But the Huskies scored six runs (on just a single hit) in the fifth, not only avoiding being 10-runned, but getting themselves back into the game as the Academy defense went sideways.

It was 14-10 going to the bottom of the sixth, when the Chargers scored six — Hanson delivered a two-run double to left and Candelas followed right after Hanson with a two-RBI single to center — for an insurmountable 19-10 lead.

For Academy, Ryan Williams pitched 3⅔ innings of relief in the middle of the game. He gave up six runs in the top of the fifth, but none of them were earned.

Ironically, Williams, the clean-up batter for the Chargers, was the only starter to register just a single hit.

Academy, Alexander said, ought to benefit in April from the demanding schedule it set up for itself in the first half of the season, which includes matchups with ranked 5A teams like Rio Rancho, Eldorado and Los Lunas.

“Sometimes,” Alexander said, “we take our lumps, but I think it pays off big time.”

James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at [email protected] or via X at @JamesDYodice.

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