Pitching Struggles Continue In Loss

An improved offensive performance wasn’t enough to lift the Trenton Bulldogs on Monday as another troublesome day on the hill doomed Trenton to a 17-6 loss to North Andrew in Grand River Conference action at Burleigh Grimes Field.
After issuing 12 walks to North Harrison just three days earlier, the Bulldogs again struggled with the strike zone, yielding 14 more free passes to the visiting Cardinals. On top of the 14 bases on balls, Trenton also put another four runners on base with hit batters.
“The guys came out and played pretty good defense, but we are still walking too many guys,” Trenton Head Coach Joel Hultman said.
North Andrew made the most of its allowed opportunities early, tagging Trenton starter Sam Schilling for three runs in the first inning and three more in the second.
After Schilling exited in the third, Canyon VonBurg was able to find some success on the hill. He went two and one-third innings and didn’t issue a walk. He was chased in the fifth, however, as North Andrew broke a two-inning scoreless streak, netting four more runs to push the lead to 10-2.
Trenton responded with a four-run fifth of its own in the bottom of the frame, part of a pretty successful day at the plate. The Bulldogs would finish the game with six runs on six hits and seven walks. Schilling and Royce Jackson each had doubles in the loss and Quincy Griffin continued to see the ball well, going two-for-three with a walk and an RBI. He stole two bases and scored two runs for Trenton.

“When it came to offense they produced at the plate,” Hultman said of his team. “We got some hits, there were a couple of times where we had the bases loaded and we couldn’t get that timely hit, but the guys are hitting the ball hard. Sam hit a pretty hard double up the middle and some other guys hit the ball hard, so it seems like the offense is coming around. We will just keep working on it and hopefully put a complete game together soon.”
After Trenton’s big inning in the fifth, however, North Andrew answered with two more runs in the sixth and five in the seventh. Trenton allowed 10 walks over the final two frames combined.
With the loss, Trenton fell to 2-5 overall and 2-2 within the Grand River Conference.
Trenton will play four games in three days, beginning with a road trip to Milan on Thursday for another GRC showdown. The Bulldogs will host East Harrison in non-league action on Friday at Burleigh Grimes Field before heading to Faucett on Saturday for a pair of games in the Mid-Buchanan Tournament.