Baseball Recap: Riverside [Wathena/Elwood] Takes a Loss

Riverside [Wathena/Elwood] had lost three straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped their record down to 11-3 to make it four. They came up short against the Valley Falls Dragons, falling 14-2. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Dragons this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 9-5 on Thursday.

Riverside [Wathena/Elwood] saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Luke Benitz, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and two doubles.

As for Valley Falls, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 13-2. Considering they have won 12 games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

On Valley Falls' side, Trenten VanHoutan made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. VanHoutan was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. He has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.

In other batting news, Grant Meyer was a standout: he went a perfect 2-for-2 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. Hayden Kearney was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base.

Coming up, Riverside [Wathena/Elwood] will challenge Pleasant Ridge at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. As for Valley Falls, they will look to defend their home field on Monday against Oskaloosa at 4:30 p.m.