Westlake was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 11th straight defeat. They took a 5-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the American Fork Cavemen. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Westlake of the 9-3 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in May of 2023.
Westlake got a good showing from Brent Smith, who tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Smith has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one walk in five consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Westlake saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Isaac Dansie, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Even though they lost, Westlake didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with five strikeouts. This was only their 12th loss (out of 14 games) when they post five or more strikeouts.
On American Fork's side, Gabe Hollenbach tossed a big game, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits.
On the hitting side, Bode Gaggero was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2. Dax Watts was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Westlake's defeat dropped their record down to 2-18. As for American Fork, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 14-6.
While Westlake had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
