Woodland Park was not able to break out of their rough patch in their second game on Friday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. Their tough 23-3 loss to the Mesa Ridge Grizzlies might stick with them for a while. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Woodland Park of the 12-0 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in April of 2023.
Woodland Park saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Gavin Strouse, who scored a run while going 1-for-1.
On Mesa Ridge's side, Gavin Vargas was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also only allowed one walk). Vargas has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. Vargas was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three RBI, a triple, and a run.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Issac Mercedes, who went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs, and four RBI. Another player making a difference was Mykah Clark, who scored two runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Woodland Park's loss dropped their record down to 2-7. As for Mesa Ridge, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 6-6.
Woodland Park will head out on the road to face off against Coronado at 9:00 a.m. in their first game on Saturday. Woodland Park has given up an average of 13.4 runs per game this season, so hopefully the team got some pitching drills in this week. As for Mesa Ridge, they will look to defend their home field on Saturday against Colorado Springs Christian at 11:00 a.m. Colorado Springs Christian has struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 6.86 runs per game on average), something Mesa Ridge will no doubt try to take advantage of.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
