Baseball Recap: Austin Comes Up Short

Austin extended their losing streak to 18 on Tuesday, dropping them down to 1-24. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 7-6 heartbreaker at the hands of the Irvin Rockets. Unfortunately, that's the third time they've come up short against the Rockets this season, with their most recent loss being a 14-0 defeat on Friday.

As for Irvin, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 12-12-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games.

For Irvin's part, Anthony Badajosa was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Badajosa has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Robert Quimiro, who got on base in four of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Irvin's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 4-1 (and 8-11-1 when he doesn't). Criss Aguilera was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

Coming up, Austin will challenge Cathedral at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. As for Irvin, they will face off against Bowie at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The Bears have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 10.45 runs per game on average), something the Rockets will no doubt try to take advantage of.