PORTAGE - In a stretch that spanned both the third and fourth innings, defensive mishaps blundered the Monroe baseball team's lead in their matchup against Portage. The Cheesemakers strong start to the game eventually stalled as the team was unable to score after the second inning, eventually losing 7-2.
"I thought we came out sharp tonight," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "I liked our play in the first three innings, where we got the lead, which is always important especially when you're on the road. (But) we started to have some defensive issues on a couple of bad throws."
All of Portage's runs on the night were unearned, as runners advanced off of a couple of fielding errors by the Cheesemakers.
Monroe junior Logan Weckerly started the game, pitching three and two-thirds innings before Lucas Neuenschwander came in for relief duty.
"I thought he (Logan) pitched well enough to get the win," Huffman said. "Lucas also did a solid job of throwing strikes, (but) unfortunately we just made some errors in the field."
Monroe's two runs came from junior thirdbaseman Chase Hellenbrand, who was 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, while sophomore Jaron Kuester went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Pleased with how his offense was able to perform at the plate, Huffman still sees some areas for his team to improve.
"It's great to get double digit hits, (but) we only had two runs, which means we left some runners on. Defensively we need to shore some things up, but we're starting to put some of the pieces together."
"I thought we came out sharp tonight," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "I liked our play in the first three innings, where we got the lead, which is always important especially when you're on the road. (But) we started to have some defensive issues on a couple of bad throws."
All of Portage's runs on the night were unearned, as runners advanced off of a couple of fielding errors by the Cheesemakers.
Monroe junior Logan Weckerly started the game, pitching three and two-thirds innings before Lucas Neuenschwander came in for relief duty.
"I thought he (Logan) pitched well enough to get the win," Huffman said. "Lucas also did a solid job of throwing strikes, (but) unfortunately we just made some errors in the field."
Monroe's two runs came from junior thirdbaseman Chase Hellenbrand, who was 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, while sophomore Jaron Kuester went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Pleased with how his offense was able to perform at the plate, Huffman still sees some areas for his team to improve.
"It's great to get double digit hits, (but) we only had two runs, which means we left some runners on. Defensively we need to shore some things up, but we're starting to put some of the pieces together."
