Baseball Recap: Merced Comes Up Short

Merced extended their losing streak to four on Wednesday, dropping their season record down to 6-18 in the process. They took an 8-3 hit to the loss column at the hands of the El Capitan Gauchos. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Gauchos this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 12-2 on Monday.

Bryce Jimenez made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 1-for-2 with one triple, one stolen base, and one run. Dylan Speidel was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.

As for El Capitan, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 16-9-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 5 runs in those games.

On El Capitan's side, Camden Peterson was a major factor no matter where he played. He tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. What's more, Peterson posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March. He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base.

In other batting news, Cade Ivy was incredible, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI, two doubles, and one triple. That triple was his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Jesse Saucedo, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.

While Merced 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 7:15 p.m. on Friday.