Manual extended their losing streak (dating back to last season) to seven on Friday, dropping them down to 0-5. They came up short against the Thornton Trojans, falling 23-4. On the bright side, the four- run effort marked the Thunderbolts' highest-scoring matchup to date.
Manual saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Irvin Marquez, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with one run, one double, and one RBI. That hit marked the first that Marquez has got this season. Another was Jeremiah Myles, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two stolen bases and one run.
Thornton's first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-3. With that win, they brought their scoring average up to 7.8 runs per game.
On Thornton's side, Ian Ruiz made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over four innings while giving up four earned runs off four hits. With that strong performance, Ruiz is now averaging an impressive 5.3 strikeouts per game. He was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in four of his five plate appearances with three RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
In other batting news, Thornton got a massive performance out of Diego Aquino, who went 3-for-4 with four stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Those four stolen bases gave Aquino a new career-high. Ethan Stehle was another key player, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with four stolen bases, four runs, and one RBI.
Looking ahead, Manual will challenge DSST: Montview at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. This will be the Thunderbolts' first chance to prove their worth in the conference. As for Thornton, they will look to defend their home field on Saturday against Rangeview at 10:00 a.m. The Raiders have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 8.33 runs per game on average), something the Trojans will no doubt try to take advantage of.
