After some red-hot attacks at the plate in their last four games, Excel Christian finally came back down to earth on Saturday. They suffered a tough 12-2 loss at the hands of the Smith Valley Bulldogs. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Excel Christian in their matchups with Smith Valley: they've now lost five in a row.
Excel Christian saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jonah Calderas, who went 1-for-2 with a home run. Calderas has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Tommy Schoech, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Excel Christian didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 14 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
On Smith Valley's side, Gaston Rodriguez made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 13 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. Rodriguez was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Luke Lannom was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing five bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances. Parker Roseberry was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
Excel Christian's loss dropped their record down to 2-5. As for Smith Valley, the victory for them keeps them at an undefeated 7-0.
While Excel Christian had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair will be back at it again later today.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
