Baseball Recap: Waterloo Comes Up Short

Waterloo fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Western Reserve on Wednesday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Blue Devils by a score of 9-8. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Blue Devils this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 10-0 on April 1st.

Aric May was huge no matter where he played even without the win. He struck out nine batters over eight innings while giving up just two earned (and six unearned) runs off 11 hits (and only one walk). What's more, he gave up only one walk, the fewest he's had since back in May of 2024. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBI. That home run marked the first that he launched this season.

In other batting news, Landon McClain made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored two runs and stole four bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. He also put up a double, which was his first of the season.

This is the second loss in a row for Waterloo and nudges their season record down to 1-4. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 4-1 Mineral Ridge (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 82.9% over those games). As for Western Reserve, their victory bumped their record up to 6-1.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Waterloo will welcome Lowellville at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Rockets have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 8.57 runs per game on average), something the Vikings will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Western Reserve, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Mineral Ridge at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Rams' pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so the Blue Devils' hitters will have their work cut out for them.