Ricebirds struggle with Falcons

El Campo fell to the Foster Falcons Friday 5-3 in a tough baseball game.

It was a great start for the Ricebirds, but it did not last long.

Tyler Socha led off the top of the first with a double. After the next two batters hit into pop outs, Landon Appling connected with a double to score Socha and put the 'Birds up 1-0 with Foster coming up to bat.

Foster's first batter was hit by a pitch and the second flew out to center field. The third and fourth batters drew walks to load the bases and the next at-bat was a double to score three runs.

The rough start meant a pitching change for El Campo and after only one out, Andrew Kinder stepped up to the mound for the Ricebirds.

The next batter earned the fi- nal RBI of the inning and put Foster up 4-1. Kinder did a solid job to get two of the next three batters out and end the inning with El Campo in a three-run deficit.

El Campo's bats struggled over the next few innings. Foster fanned six Ricebirds with strikeouts in the next three innings while holding El Campo to only two hits and no runs.

The Falcons managed another run in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. El Campo responded with a run in the fifth inning.

After the first batter of the inning earned an out, Chris Quinn walked to reach first base.

Socha tried to move Quinn over to first, but hit into a fly out to right field. The next batter brought Quinn home.

Blake Korenek connected for a triple and an RBI to cut Foster's lead to 5-2. The following at-bat was a ground out and El Campo had to wait until the seventh inning to score another run.

Appling took the mound over from Kinder and pitched two innings of scoreless ball to keep the Ricebirds in the game.

El Campo's final run came in the bottom of the seventh. It was an inning filled with opportunity, but the Ricebirds struggled at the plate.

The first batter earned an out, but Quinn followed with a double. Socha and Korenek both walked to load the bases and Bryan Skow brought the run in the next at-bat.

He was hit by a wild pitch and Quinn came home while Skow claimed first base.

The next two at-bats were a fly out and a standing strike out to end the game with Foster up 5-3.