After some red-hot attacks at the plate in their last four matchups, Burns finally came back down to earth on Friday. They lost 13-2 to the McLoughlin Pioneers. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Burns of the 10-0 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in May of 2023.
Burns saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Dylan Johnson, who went 3-for-3 with two RBI. Johnson has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On McLoughlin's side, Javier Esparza made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 15 over seven innings pitched. Esparza was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with two runs, a triple, and two RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Marco Hernandez, who scored three runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Jace Heckman, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Burns' loss dropped their record down to 6-11. As for McLoughlin, the victory was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 11-8.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Burns will face off against Nyssa at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Burns is facing Nyssa at the right time seeing as Nyssa is stuck on a six-game losing streak. As for McLoughlin, they will head out on the road to take on Riverside at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in McLoughlin's favor is that they have posted big run totals in their last four contests.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
