Ralston Valley had lost four straight at home, but on Wednesday they dropped down to 5-9 to make it five. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Chatfield Chargers. While getting shut out isn't ideal, the Mustangs haven't been shut out since back in August.
Nina Renk spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four runs (all of which were unearned) on eight hits and racked up six Ks.
On the hitting side, Ralston Valley saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Harley Maday, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one double.
As for Chatfield, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 6-10. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games.
On Chatfield's side, the result came thanks to Isabella Leech's shutout, as she gave up just five hits. Leech has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Avry Aukland, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and one run. Those two stolen bases gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Kayla Harpstreith, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.
Coming up, Ralston Valley is taking a road trip to face off against Fort Collins at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. The Mustangs' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Lambkins have averaged an impressive 10.6 runs per game this season. As for Chatfield, they have already played their next contest, a 10-0 victory against Bear Creek on the 25th.
