Baseball Recap: Frontier Comes Up Short

Frontier extended their losing streak to three on Monday, dropping them down to 3-8. They lost 7-1 to the St. Marys Blue Devils. The Cougars were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Blue Devils earlier this season, when they won 15-2.

As for St. Marys, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.0 runs on average over those games.

For St. Marys' part, Casey Burkhammer was a major factor no matter where he played. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. Burkhammer has been consistent: he hasn't given up a single earned run in seven consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, one double, and one RBI. St. Marys is undefeated when Burkhammer posts two or more runs, but 5-6 otherwise.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Kyle Bullman, who went 2-for-3 with three stolen bases and one run. He is becoming a predictor of St. Marys' success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is undefeated (and 4-6 when he doesn't). Trevor Maley was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base and one RBI.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming matchups. Frontier will head out to take on Belpre at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. As for St. Marys, they will venture away from home to challenge Williamstown at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday.