Baseball's misfortune continues against Magruder

BLAZER STADIUM, APR 22 –

The Blazers fell to Magruder High School 8-3, for their fourth loss in their last 5 games, dropping their record to 4-5. Blair's 14-3 victory against Northwest High School in its previous game on Apr. 14 came after consecutive one-run losses against Sherwood, Quince Orchard and Richard Montgomery High Schools.

Blair jumped out to an early lead as Senior catcher Max Eckert's first inning single and Senior shortstop Josh Richardson's third inning double, one of his team high three hits, each scored Senior Michael Sidorov. Right fielder Danny Roman hit a key fourth inning double, and then advanced to third base on a passed ball before scoring on a sacrifice fly hit by Junior second baseman Sam Boone.

Junior Jonas Wilson, Blair's starting pitcher, was nearly unstoppable. His pitching, backed by unyielding defense stymied Magruder's attempts to score in the first five innings.

Unfortunately, the Colonels scored all eight of their runs in the sixth inning, all occurring after the first out was recorded. Junior Ian Scroggs was much less successful than Wilson, who allowed only three runs, six hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings.

Scroggs, who allowed three hits, five runs and four walks after taking over for Wilson, had trouble finding the strike zone and throwing quality pitches. Defensive mishaps in the inning also led to Blair's demise.

Coach John Macdonald was disappointed in the way that the team played, especially during the sixth inning. "There were about eight things that could have happened in that inning to stop the bleeding. [Magruder] had no business beating us 8-3," he said.

Junior first baseman Kent Anderson's single to lead-off the bottom of the sixth inning gave the Blazers hope, but three consecutive strikeouts, along with two more in the seventh and final inning ensured a Magruder victory.

Despite having a losing record, the Blazers are outscoring their opponents 71-38 and have only been out-hit in two games. They will have seven more games in the next eleven days to prove that they are better than their 4-5 record indicates, starting with a game at Blake on Apr. 23 at 7:00.