Cruiser baseball struggles against Franklin Pierce

The Eatonville Varsity Cruisers struggled to find momentum this week, falling 12-0 on Tuesday and 8-5 on Wednesday in a tough two-game set against Franklin Pierce.

On Tuesday, the Cruisers fell behind early as Franklin Pierce jumped out with a six-run first inning, taking advantage of walks, a hit batter, and a key single. A passed ball also contributed to the early deficit. The Cruisers couldn’t recover as Franklin Pierce tacked on six more runs in the fifth inning, using a mix of hits, walks, and aggressive base running to pull away.

Eatonville managed three hits in the loss, with Colton Herbrand leading the way by collecting two of them in three at-bats. On the mound, Eatonville pitchers battled but were unable to slow down the Franklin Pierce offense.

Wednesday’s rematch saw Eatonville mount a stronger challenge, but the Cruisers still came up short, 8-5. Franklin Pierce again struck early, scoring twice in the first inning on a pair of groundouts. In the second inning, the Cruisers’ defense faltered, leading to five runs despite only one hit being surrendered.

Brody Thirtyacre started on the mound for Eatonville and pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs — only two earned — while striking out two and walking four. Ben Smith came on in relief and was a bright spot, pitching 4 2/3 innings and giving up only three hits and one unearned run, striking out six.

At the plate, Santiago Ruvalcaba led Eatonville with two RBIs, going 1-for-2. Thirtyacre, Aaron Tozier, Michael Laird, and Michael Stogsdill also added a hit each, with Thirtyacre swiping two bases to spark the offense.

The Cruisers hosted the Foss Falcons on Monday. They played at the Washington Patriots on Tuesday. Today, they the Patriots.