Baseball Recap: Charles City Takes a Loss

Charles City had lost 14 straight on the road dating back to last season, but on Thursday they dropped their record down to 1-6 to make it 15. They lost 18-0 to the Middlesex Chargers. The game marked the first time this season in which the Panthers were not able to get on the board.

Charles City saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Sherod Barnes, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one double. Those hits marked the first that Barnes has got this season.

As for Middlesex, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 4-5 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.2 runs on average over those games.

On Middlesex's side, Nathan Rutkowski and Thomas Foster made a splash while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Rutkowski struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (and only one walk). Meanwhile, Foster struck out six batters over two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). Rutkowski has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in four consecutive appearances. At the plate, Rutkowski got on base in two of his five plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base, while Foster got on base in two of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Rutkowski has become a key player for Middlesex: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 0-5 otherwise.

In other batting news, Middlesex got a massive performance out of Bryson Bulgin, who went 2-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and one double. Bulgin is becoming a predictor of the Chargers' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 4-1 (and 0-4 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Luke McMurtrie, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.

We've got plenty of inter-region action coming up soon. Charles City will square off against rival Mathews at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Middlesex is set to face off against their familiar foe King William at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.