Baseball Recap: Paradise Comes Up Short

Paradise had lost three straight at home, but on Tuesday they dropped their record down to 7-7 to make it four. They came up short against the East Nicolaus Spartans, falling 18-0. The game marked the first time this year in which the Bobcats were not able to get on the board.

Paradise saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jayden Bunch, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base.

As for East Nicolaus, they moved to 9-8 with that win, which also ended their three-game losing streak. Their hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.

On East Nicolaus' side, Brody Johnson and Braden Hardwick were major factors no matter where they played. On the mound, Johnson didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over four innings pitched. Meanwhile, Hardwick pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Johnson has become a key player for East Nicolaus: the team is 3-1 when he allows at most one hit, but 6-7 otherwise. At the plate, Johnson went a perfect 1-for-1 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI, while Hardwick got on base in all five of his plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.

In other batting news, Daven Earhart was a standout: he went 4-for-5 with five RBI, two runs, and one double. Those four hits gave him a new career-high. Mikey Robbins was another key player, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple.

While Paradise had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.