MOSES LAKE — On Thursday, the Central Washington Sixers 18U baseball team traveled to Puyallup to play the Moundtime 18U team. They lost control of the game early and were defeated with a final score of 8-0. 

“Today's game didn't go so well,” Sixers head coach Jason Laugen said. “Pitching just didn't perform, and we had a hard time hitting the baseball as well. So, all around, it wasn't a great effort on the day.” 

After the first inning went scoreless, the Moundtime 18U had their most productive inning in the top of the second. They capitalized on the Sixers’ struggles with pitching and scored seven runs, including a grand slam, according to Laugen.  

The Sixers were held scoreless in the bottom of the second inning, and Moundtime took over in the top of the third. They would score their last and only run, increasing their lead to 8-0. From the bottom of the third inning to the end of the fifth both teams went scoreless. According to Laugen, it just was not their day.  

“We're putting our hopes and dreams on 16- to 18-year-olds. I mean, that's just what baseball is, some days you have it, other days you don't,” he said.  

This comes after a strong tournament performance last weekend, according to Laugen. On Wednesday, they also had to overcome some obstacles to squeeze out an 11-10 win over the 18U Prospect–Taunt team.  

“We've been playing really good baseball. Yesterday, we committed some defensive errors, but we were able to come back and win the game. And today we were off a little bit,” Laugen said.  

Despite losing control early on, Laugen said the pitching improved as the game went on. He said Kolby Lyons was able to settle down after only allowing two hits. Lyons was able to strike out two batters, and Dagen Enquist struck out five batters of his own.

Jack Swedburg was able to string together two hits out of three at-bats. He also recorded a stolen base alongside teammate Eli Nash. Ryan Martinez recorded a hit while Noah Echavarria recorded a double. Laugen said getting down early took away key elements of their offense, like putting bunts down or stealing.  

After the loss, Laugen said losses like this have their benefits because of what the players can learn from them.  

“It's a learning experience to go out as pitchers and be competitive and to make the opposing hitters swing because they're going to get themselves out, rather than trying to be too fine,” he said.  

The Sixers still look ahead to a busy weekend of summer baseball as they will face the North Shore PR Twins, which come from Vancouver. According to Laugen, this will be a good opportunity for the players to learn how to shrug off tough losses and move on to the next game. 

“It’s a new day tomorrow, and that's just the thing that they have to realize,” he said. “Sometimes for kids, it's a little harder to do, but they've got to flush the loss and come back and get ready to play a new day. We got a tough competition tomorrow with a team out of Canada, but we're going to come out and we're going to give them the best that we have.”

Box Score 

MNDT: 0 7 1 0 0 8
SXRS:   0 0 0 0 0  0  

    Sixers Eli Nash steps up to bat in a game from earlier this season. The Sixers were defeated 8-0 by the Moundtime 18U baseball team.
  

    Sixers Jack Swedburg pitches in a game earlier this summer. Swedburg recorded two hits out of three at bats against the Moundtime 18U baseball team.
  

    Sixers Eli Nash sprints to first base in a game earlier this season. Nash recorded a stolen base against the Moundtime 18U baseball team.