The Yates Center Wildcats hope to put themselves back on the right track Monday at Northeast after sliding into a four-game losing streak following Thursday’s Central Heights sweep.
The Wildcats struggled to find their footing while facing the Vikings who made it an early day with a 20-3 victory in the opener and a 15-2 victory in the finale.
Sophomore pitcher Evan McVey put Yates Center on the scoreboard with an RBI single, followed by a two-RBI grounder by senior second baseman Garrett Audiss, but that was all the offense the Wildcats could muster in the opener.
McVey took the loss with three strikeouts over three innings while walking six batters and allowing eight earned runs. Sophomore Nolan Lampe and junior Blake Morrison came on in relief to pick up a strikeout each in their one inning of work.
Although taking another double-digit loss in the finale, the Wildcats showed improvement on defense with significantly fewer errors.
The Vikings came out of the gates with seven runs in the first two innings. Yates Center responded with an RBI single from senior outfielder Kevin Brown in the second inning. In the third inning, junior second baseman Kage Beck scored on a passed ball, but it was not enough to keep pace with Central Heights.
With the losses, the Wildcats fall to 2-8 but could make up some ground with games on the road against Northeast Monday and Pleasanton Thursday.
First pitches for Monday’s games are at 4:30 and 6:40 p.m. Thursday’s games will be at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
