Baseball Recap: Patagonia Comes Up Short

Patagonia extended their losing streak to five on Friday, dropping them down to 5-8. They lost 11-3 to the San Manuel Miners. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Miners this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 17-3 back in March.

As for San Manuel, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.4 runs over those games.

For San Manuel's part, Taylor Decker was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 13 batters over seven innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits (and only one walk). Those 13 strikeouts gave Decker a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three runs, one triple, and one stolen base.

In other batting news, Ivan Flores and Marcos Smith did most of the damage at the plate: Flores went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one double, while Smith went 2-for-4 with three RBI and one stolen base. Those three RBI gave Smith a new career-high. Tanner Decker also deserves some recognition as he hit his first triple of the season.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Patagonia will face off against Valley Union at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. The Lobos' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Blue Devils have averaged an impressive 6.3 runs per game this season. As for San Manuel, they will square off against Baboquivari at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday.