Baseball Recap: Shiprock Comes Up Short

Shiprock extended their losing streak to nine on Tuesday, dropping their season record down to 7-14 in the process. They lost 13-1 to the Miyamura Patriots. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Patriots this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 9-4 last Tuesday.

Shiprock saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Khalil Nakai, who went 1-for-2 with one triple and one run.

As for Miyamura, the win got them back to even at 11-11. Considering they have won seven contests by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.

On Miyamura's side, Brady Antonio and Xavier Brown were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Antonio struck out eight batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Brown tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Antonio is becoming a predictor of Miyamura's success: when he allows at most two hits the team is 3-1 (and 8-10 when he doesn't). At bat, Antonio went 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Brown went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs. Those three RBI gave Antonio a new career-high.

In other batting news, Miyamura got a massive performance out of Shane Escajeda, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with four stolen bases and three runs. Those three runs gave Escajeda a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Julian Caraveo, who went 2-for-3 with four stolen bases, two runs, and one triple.

Looking ahead, Shiprock will face off against Gallup at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Bengals have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 10.68 runs per game on average), something the Chieftains will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Miyamura, they will welcome Bloomfield at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Patriots' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Bobcats have averaged an impressive 8.6 runs per game this season.