Baseball Recap: Zion Christian Picks Up Fifth Consecutive Win

Zion Christian had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. They skirted past the Tri-Unity Christian Defenders 6-4. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 1-0 on Tuesday.

Ian DeRuiter made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over four innings while giving up three earned (and one unearned) runs off five hits. Those nine strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going a perfect 3-for-3 with one RBI.

In other batting news, Alex Tuinstra was a standout: he went 2-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one run. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Landon Doezema, who went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and two runs.

Zion Christian kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.8 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matchups they've averaged 11.2.

Zion Christian pushed their record up to 15-3 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.7 runs on average over those games. As for Tri-Unity Christian, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-4.

Zion Christian will have a chance to go back-to-back against the Defenders: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 4:15 p.m. on Friday.