Baseball Recap: Sacramento Takes a Loss

Sacramento had lost seven straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped their record down to 8-18 to make it eight. They came up short against the Vanden Vikings, falling 22-0. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Vikings this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 20-0 on Tuesday.

As for Vanden, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches. That's provided a massive bump to their 9-15 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.3 runs over those games.

For Vanden's part, Anthony Nelson and Mariano Gonzalez made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Nelson pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Gonzalez struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Nelson has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. At bat, Nelson went 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI, while Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with one triple, one run, and one RBI. Those two runs gave Nelson a new career-high.

In other batting news, Hayden Book and Nolan Brewer did most of the damage at the plate: Book got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base, while Brewer got on base in all five of his plate appearances with three runs and three RBI. Those three runs gave Brewer a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Kekoa Grinton, who earned one RBI, two runs, and three stolen bases.

Looking ahead, Sacramento will host Western Sierra Collegiate Academy at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Dragons' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Wolves have averaged an impressive 9.6 runs per game this season. As for Vanden, they have already played their next game, a 12-2 win against Dixon on the 30th.