Baseball Recap: Excel Christian Comes Up Short

Excel Christian extended their losing streak to four on Friday, dropping their season record down to 10-7-1 in the process. They fell 16-13 to the Mineral County Serpents. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Serpents this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 19-9 on Friday.

As for Mineral County, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 15-9 record this season. The team dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 9 runs.

For Mineral County's part, Johnny Serrato was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Serrato has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. He has become a key player for Mineral County: the team is 11-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 4-8 otherwise.

In other batting news, Sean Ethridge was a standout: he got on base in three of his four plate appearances with five stolen bases and three runs. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Michael Blackwood, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.

Excel Christian and Mineral County are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. The Warriors will challenge Smith Valley at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. The Bulldogs' pitching crew has only allowed 3.1 runs per game this season, so Excel Christian's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Mineral County, they will square off against Wells at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. The Serpents' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Leopards have averaged an impressive 12.1 runs per game this season.