Baseball Recap: Valley Comes Up Short

Valley extended their losing streak to three on Tuesday, dropping their season record down to 4-10 in the process. They came up short against the Holy Cross Cougars, falling 18-0. That's two games in a row now that the Vikings have lost by exactly 18 runs.

As for Holy Cross, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games. That's provided a nice bump to their 15-13 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.1 runs over those games.

For Holy Cross' part, Ace Foley made a big impact no matter where he played. He struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (and not a single walk). Those eight strikeouts gave Foley a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with two runs. He is becoming a predictor of Holy Cross' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 12-13 when he doesn't).

In other batting news, Holy Cross got a massive performance out of Tyler Manning, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and four RBI. Mason Lanham was another key player, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Valley will challenge Jeffersontown at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Chargers have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 12.83 runs per game on average), something the Vikings will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Holy Cross, they will square off against Bethlehem at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.