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Catfish pitching improves from recent slump, but it wasn’t enough in Friday’s loss
At 15-17 overall heading into Friday’s Prospect League baseball game at Jackson (Tenn.), the Cape Catfish need to say their blessings that their pitching staff has kept the team competitive this season.
Cape ranks 15th in the 18-team league in batting average and dead last in strikeouts at the plate.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys who still have a lot of learning to do,” first-year Catfish manager Phil Butler said recently of his team’s offensive production. “That is what this is for.”
The Catfish lead the Prospect League in ERA and rank second in walks/hits per inning (WHIP), but in their previous two outings leading up to Friday, the Cape arms allowed an astounding 29 runs, 25 of which were earned.
Inability on the mound wasn’t as much of an issue on Friday, though it still was enough of a problem, as Cape fell to the Rockabilly’s 5-3.
The Catfish allowed five earned runs and seven hits, which allowed Jackson to overcome a couple of defensive miscues.
The Rockabilly’s (21-10, 4-0 second half) converted a pair of walks, a wild pitch, and a single into a 3-0 margin in the third inning off Cape starter Owen Clark to jump out to an early lead.
Clark, who threw 55 strikes in his 93 pitches, ultimately worked 4 2/3 innings and gave up four hits, and three earned runs while walking four and striking out seven.
Jackson added another run in the sixth and the eighth innings off Catfish reliever Jordan Riley, which kept Cape (15-18, 1-3) at bay, despite the ‘Fish adding a couple of runs in the seventh and another in the eighth.
The Catfish managed six hits, including a double, a run, and a walk by recent signee Cordell Coburn, who was playing in his fourth game with the club.
Cape leadoff hitter Owen Mandler had a hit, a run, and an RBI while Owen Henne (one hit, one run), Moises Rosario (one hit, one walk), Alex Kowalski (one hit), and former Cooter High standout Hayden Nazarenus (one hit, one RBI, one walk) also contributed.