B-A suffered a frustrating loss Monday against Central in a game where its pitchers struggled to find the plate, but the Devils were able to bounce back on Tuesday with a big Laurel Highlands win on the road against Clearfield.
The win kept B-A in the playoff hunt with a 5-8 record.
On Monday, B-A extended its losing streak to 5 at the claws of the Central Dragons. This game was highlighted by the amount of free passes the Dragons received. In a 13-9 loss, Blue Devil pitchers allowed 13 free passes as opposed to the 5 allowed by two Central pitchers.
Things stayed quiet in the first, but it did not take long to pick up as both teams scored a run of their own in the 2nd. The Dragons would continue pushing at the Devils, scoring 2 more runs in the 3rd and taking the lead, 3-1.
Both teams would hold each other’s bats until the top of the 5th when the Devils took the lead scoring 4 more runs to go ahead 5-3. The bottom of the 5th rolled around, and the dragons reminded B-A exactly why they have beat them the past 4 years in a row, as they scored 8 more runs. B-A fought back, scoring 4 more runs of their own in the top of the 6th, but the dragons just wouldn’t go away, scoring 2 more runs, finishing off the Blue Devils 13-9.
Despite those claws leaving a little mark on B-A, there were a pair of players who definitely made the most out of their game.
Designated hitter Hunter Kyle has produced very well for B-A this year, rallying up 10 RBI’s off of 9 hits, and he currently holds a very respectable batting average of .310. Mr. Kyle showed off his power at the plate with a launching “Bum Bum” bomb. He also drove in 3 RBI’s during this showing.
Another player that has been really producing for the Blue Devils this year is freshman third basemen, Landon Sneath. Mr. Sneath is currently 3rd on the team for runs scored, and 2nd on the team in RBIs. He continued to put the bat on the ball last Monday, totaling up 3 runs and 2 RBIs off of 3 hits. Although Sneath isn’t out there crushing bombs, the Blue Devils definitely wouldn’t have produced as well as they have been if he wasn’t in the lineup.
After a tough loss, the Blue Devils heads were down as they hit the road, but the bus ride back had to be all smiles. On Tuesday B-A traveled to Clearfield, where they put an end to their 5-game losing streak, kept themselves in the playoffs, and ultimately brought home a 9-5 win. With that 5-game losing streak in the rearview now, B-A looks to put the same kind of play into action from here on out.
Putting another win on the record is always a good thing, but winning the game is determined by who shows up and wants to play. Sophomore shortstop Chase Plummer produced very well for B-A in this one and has been all season. Plummer currently leads the team in 3 major stats including a batting average of .471, on base percentage of .526, and a slugging percentage of 1.000. Plummer is also 2nd for triples with 1 and 2nd for homeruns with 2. Speaking of homeruns, Mr. Plummer went 2-for-3 in the Clearfield game, launching an absolute missile over the fence. He would score 2 runs and 2 RBIs in the process.
Another player contributing to the win was senior 1st basemen Matt Berkowitz. Mr.Berkowitz went 2-for-3 scoring 2 runs and also stealing a base.
B-A just couldn’t stop getting hits in this one, finishing the game with a batting average of .423 while smacking 10 of them. B-A is a perfect 3-0 when they post a batting average of at least .375 or better, so if B-A’s bats are alive, chances are they’re winning.
The win broke B-A’s 5-game losing streak and also put an end to Clearfield 3-game winning streak. B-A’s record is now 5-8. They will attempt to make that 6-8 this Thursday. B-A will need support from their home crowd as they take on the Richland Rams this Thursday at 4:30 p.m. on Senior Night.
