Baseball Recap: Moon Valley Comes Up Short

Moon Valley had lost 13 straight on the road dating back to last season, but on Thursday they dropped their record down to 4-15 to make it 14. They lost 15-3 to the Shadow Mountain Matadors. The Rockets were not able to repeat the success they had when they faced the Matadors earlier this season, when they won 9-4.

Moon Valley saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Trevor Michaels, who went 1-for-2 with one RBI. Garrett Lynch also deserves some recognition as he got his first hit of the season.

As for Shadow Mountain, their record is now 9-12-1. The high-scoring effort was just what they needed considering they were shut out in their previous game.

On Shadow Mountain's side, Jacob Alden made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave Alden a new career-high in strikeouts (five). He was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with three RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Shadow Mountain's success: when he posts at least three RBI the team is 2-1 (and 7-11-1 when he doesn't).

In other batting news, Shadow Mountain let Gavin Lieske and Andy Chaplick run wild. Lieske went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI, two runs, and one double, while Chaplick went 2-for-4 with four runs, one triple, and one RBI. That's the most hits Lieske has posted since back in March. Jack Zauner was another key player, going 2-for-3 with four runs.

Looking ahead, Moon Valley will head out on the road to take on Goldwater at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. As for Shadow Mountain, they will be playing at home against Thunderbird at 3:45 p.m. on Monday. The Matadors' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Titans have averaged an impressive 7 runs per game this season.