Altoona dropped their record down to 9-8 on Thursday, which also ended the team's three-game streak of wins on the road. They fell just short of the St. Croix Central Panthers by a score of 2-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Railroaders have suffered since April 4th.
As for St. Croix Central, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-5 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games.
For St. Croix Central's part, the result came thanks to Brecken Ponath's shutout, as he gave up just five hits and racked up seven Ks. Ponath has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, St. Croix Central saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Brett Graese, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run. Graese is becoming a predictor of the Panthers' success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is undefeated (and 4-5 when he doesn't). Eli Babler was another, getting on base in two of his three plate appearances with two stolen bases and one run.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Altoona will host Sparta at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. As for St. Croix Central, they will be playing at home against Fall Creek at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
