Caverna extended their losing streak to nine on Monday, dropping their season record down to 0-9-1 in the process. They lost 20-10 to the Thomas Nelson Generals. On the bright side, the ten- run performance marked the Colonels' highest-scoring contest to date.
Caverna saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cortavian Maxey, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Clayton Norris also deserves some recognition as he scored his first run of the season.
As for Thomas Nelson, their win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-4. The victory continues a trend for them in their matchups with Caverna: they've now won six in a row.
On Thomas Nelson's side, Justin Parsley and Rylen Keith made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Parsley struck out ten batters over 4.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Keith tossed one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in four consecutive appearances. At the plate, Parsley went 2-for-4 with four stolen bases, two runs, and one triple, while Keith went 1-for-5 with two stolen bases, one triple, and one run. With that strong performance, Parsley is now averaging an impressive 1.1 stolen bases per game.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cole Girdley, who went 2-for-3 with five stolen bases, three runs, and one double. Thomas Nelson is undefeated when Girdley posts two or more runs, but 3-4 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Landon McCubbins, who went 1-for-4 with three stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI.
Looking ahead, Caverna will head out to challenge Trinity at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The Raiders have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 12.27 runs per game on average), something the Colonels will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Thomas Nelson, they didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next match, a 20-1 win against Cornerstone Christian Academy on the 22nd.
