Central A & M fell victim to Riverton and their airtight pitching crew on Saturday. They fell just short of the Riverton Hawks by a score of 1-0. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Central A & M of the 11-7 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in April of 2022.
Gavin Houchins was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and only one hit while striking out ten over six innings pitched. Houchins has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in 11 consecutive pitching appearances. Houchins was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with a stolen base.
Houchins wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Marshall Minott, who went 1-for-3 with a stolen base. Minott has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
Even though they lost, Central A & M didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with ten strikeouts. This was only their 12th loss (out of 14 games) when they post five or more strikeouts.
On Riverton's side, Brett Clyne spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just zero earned runs on seven hits and racked up seven Ks.
Central A & M has not been sharp recently as the team has lost 13 of their last 14 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-20 record this season. As for Riverton, their victory bumped their record up to 6-8.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Central A & M will take on Mt. Pulaski at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. As for Riverton, they will be playing at home against Olympia at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
