The Hillcrest Academy baseball and softball teams make the road trip to Mediapolis Thursday, each in search of their first wins. The Raven baseball team is 0-2 after 5-2 and 5-4 losses to Highland and Louisa-Muscatine respectively to start the year. The Ravens are hitting .163 as a team with a staff ERA of 4.00. Individually, Hillcrest is led by Jace Rempel at the plate with a .429 average and two RBI. London Schrock is the ERA leader at 1.75 in four innings.

Mediapolis is 1-2 overall with losses to Highland and New London and a win against Winfield-Mt. Union. The Bulldogs are hitting .241 as a team and have a 4.91 team ERA. Individually, MEPO is led by Josh Darbyshire with a .500 average four RBI and three runs scored. On the hill, Jason Brooks is 1-0 with a 2.80 ERA in five innings. These two teams met last year with the Bulldogs winning a 1-0 pitchers dual. MEPO has won 13 of the last 14 in the series.

The Hillcrest softball team is 0-3 on the year after dropping both ends of a doubleheader to Highland and falling to Lone Tree on the road Friday. For the year, the Ravens are hitting .174 and have a team ERA of 18.53. Individually, the Ravens are led by Esther Hughes with a .500 average and three total hits. Leah Bontrager has done all of the pitching for Hillcrest this season.

Mediapolis is 0-4 on the season with losses to Highland, Winfield-Mt. Union, New London and Holy Trinity Catholic all on the road in the opening week. The Bullettes are hitting .221 as a team with an overall ERA of 6.33. They are led individually by Jayde Eberhardt with a .462 average and six hits. In the circle, Hallie Mohr has worked 15 innings with an 0-3 record and 6.39 ERA. These teams met a year ago with Mediapolis scoring a 15-2 win. That broke a four game Raven winning streak in the series. Action between Mediapolis and Hillcrest for baseball and softball starts tonight at 7p.m.