Baseball Recap: Shoemaker Comes Up Short

Shoemaker extended their losing streak to four on Tuesday, dropping them down to 3-16. They lost 16-4 to the Copperas Cove Bulldawgs. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Bulldawgs this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 14-0 last Thursday.

Shoemaker saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Aiden Toth, who went 3-for-4 with one run and one double.

As for Copperas Cove, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 17-14 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games.

On Copperas Cove's side, Gabriel Armenta was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Armenta has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and one triple. Those three hits gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Elixander Martinez, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Those RBI were his first of the season. The team also got some help courtesy of Dylan Adams, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Coming up, Shoemaker will challenge Harker Heights at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Grey Wolves' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Knights have averaged an impressive 6.3 runs per game this season. As for Copperas Cove, they will square off against Temple at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.