The losing skid has reached five games for the Steelville High School baseball team after the Cardinals dropped road games on March 30 to Richland and on March 31 to Pacific.

Steelville is now 1-6 on the season. The Cardinals picked up a 10-8 victory over Plato in the second half of a March 19 season opening double header for its lone victory. 

Steelville hosted Arcadia Valley on April 6 and Cuba on April 9 and will compete in the Bismarck Tournament on April 10 and 11, which will all be detailed in next week’s edition. The White and Red will play in Bourbon on April 14 and have a week off before hosting Crocker on April 21, which begins a stretch of six straight home games for the Cardinals. 

Unearned runs costly March 30 vs. Richland

The Cardinals’ matchup versus the Richland Bears was close until the fifth inning. Steelville scored one run in the first, third and fourth innings and trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the fifth. The Bears then broke open the game with an eight-run outburst to turn the close game into a nine run ballgame. Steelville added one more in the top of the sixth, but Richland responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it a 14-4 game, which ended the matchup an inning early due to the run rule. Steelville’s shaky fielding continued to plague them as the Cardinal’s seven errors led to 11 unearned runs.

Ripken Halbert moved from his usual position at shortstop to catcher with starting catcher Garrett Richter on the mound and was the most productive Cardinal at the plate. Halbert ripped a double, two singles, stole two bases, scored twice and drove in a run. Trentin Garrison added two hits and a run batted in and Carter Grandstaff reached base three times on a pair of singles and a walk and scored a run. Jackson Woods and Carmeron Wallis each chipped in a single that drove in a run to round out the Cardinal’s offense.

Richter scattered seven hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out three, but wasn’t helped out by his defense. Only two of the eight runs Richter gave up were earned. Colin Orick, Garrison and Carter Wallis each pitched 1/3 of an inning in relief before Richland ended it due to the run rule.

Richland senior first baseman Ethan Butteris laced two hits including a home run blast to lead the Bears.

Six unearned runs March 31 vs Pacific

Steelville traveled to Pacific the following afternoon to take on the Pacific Indians. The Cardinals were once again in a close game early, before things fell apart in the fourth in fifth innings. The Indians led 1-0 heading into the fifth inning and Steelville tied it with a single from Carter Wallis that scored Woods. But Pacific responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-1 lead into the fifth. After the Cardinals were held scoreless in the top of the fifth, Pacific plated six in the bottom half of the inning to end the game early with an 11-1 run rule victory.

The Cardinals committed another four errors, which led to six unearned Pacific runs. Woods started and gave up five earned runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings while striking out four Indians. Halbert came on for 1/3 of an inning of relief before Pacific earned a walk-off run rule victory.

Chase Grayson, Woods and Wallis all singled for Steelville’s only base hits of the afternoon. Sophomore Dason Hill pitched all five innings for Pacific and junior Grant Kossuth had two hits, two runs batted in and three runs scored to lead the Indians.