Baseball Recap: Mapletown Comes Up Short

Mapletown had lost six straight at home, but on Monday they dropped their record down to 2-11 to make it seven. They fell just short of the Jeannette Jayhawks by a score of 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Maples have suffered since March 19th.

Josh Howard was cooking despite his team's loss, going 3-for-4 with two runs. Carson Vanata was another key player, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.

As for Jeannette, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record up to 6-7. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.5 runs over those games.

On Jeannette's side, Amari Thomas and Jayden Kennedy made a splash no matter where they played. On the mound, Thomas tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Kennedy struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off eight hits (and only one walk). Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. At bat, Thomas got on base in three of his five plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI, while Kennedy went 2-for-4 with two RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Evyn Yargeau, who went 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

Looking ahead, Mapletown will challenge Greensburg Central Catholic at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. As for Jeannette, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Brentwood at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.