With a playoff game on the line, Excel Christian rose to the challenge on Friday. They had just enough and edged the Mineral County Serpents out 12-11. That's more bragging rights for Excel Christian, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.
Samuel Mills was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off three hits. Mills was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing three bases while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cole Gassen, who scored three runs while going 3-for-3. Tommy Schoech was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 2-for-4.
Like Excel Christian, Mineral County also got a great game from a two-way player: Chase Reeves. He struck out ten batters over four innings while giving up just two earned (and seven unearned) runs off eight hits. Reeves has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Reeves was also solid in the batter's box, scoring four runs while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.
In other batting news, Sean Ethridge and DuJuan Blondin did some serious damage despite the final result: Ethridge scored two runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances, while Blondin scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Robert Wilson, who scored a run while going 1-for-4.
Excel Christian has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a massive bump to their 11-7 record this season. As for Mineral County, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 6-19.
Excel Christian is on the road again on Saturday to play Wells at 9:00 a.m. Excel Christian is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 12.3 runs per game this season. Mineral County does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
