Baseball Recap: Arcola Comes Up Short

Arcola had lost four straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped down to 6-9 to make it five. They fell just short of the Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond Knights by a score of 4-2. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest loss the Purple Riders have suffered since April 6th.

Arcola saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brody Drake, who went 1-for-2 with one run.

As for Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.3 runs over those games.

On Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond's side, John Williams was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over 6.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits. Williams has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in two of his four plate appearances with two runs. He is becoming a predictor of Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 5-6 when he doesn't).

We've got plenty of inter-conference action coming up soon. Arcola is set to challenge their familiar foe Blue Ridge at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond will take on rival Cerro Gordo/Bement at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.