The Hounds came up short in Tuesday evening’s game at against the Marlins at Southwest Park in Park Ridge, snapping a team record 10 game winning streak for the club. The final tally was 8-5. The streak surpassed the previous record of 7 games held by the 2011 squad (the Hounds would finish the 2011 regular season with a 17-9 record).

Nick Schmidt (#23) started on the bump for the Hounds. He went tit-for-tat in the pitcher’s duel that was the first half of the game, notching 5 strikeouts and allowing no runs through 4 innings, surely impressing honey Haley who was in attendance. The bats came alive in the fifth, the Hounds answering a 5 run Marlins top half with a double by Tim Riggenbach (LF, #8) and a ROE by Nick Ingram (RF, #36), totaling two runs for the bottom half. The Riggenbachs’ dog Bailey, who spent some of the game in the nosebleed bleacher seats, did not seem to notice Tim’s performance. The Marlins would tack on 2 in the 6th. The Hounds responded with a single by returning DIYer Garret Eddy (CF, #17. Garret has been away in Boston fixing up his house). In an exceedingly rare event, Garret was caught stealing, requiring a perfect play by the defending team. Brad Halperin (3B, #15) walked and advanced to third on a double by Schmidt. This set the table for Arron Kruse who, in challenging Nick Schmidt’s 2020 Hounds MVP candidacy, would stroke a long drive to right center a 3-run dinger to keep the Hounds very much alive in the game. Kruse would also play reliever in the 7th, holding the Marlins to no runs. Unfortunately, the home team would ultimately come up short by the end of the game, as they were unable to convert a single by Joe Johnston (DH, #20) and continue the game in the bottom of the seventh.

On the day, the Hounds faced good pitching and hit the ball well. Diving attempts by Halperin, Riggenbach, and Kruse came up inches short. The Hounds showed some vulnerability, but not much. The club looks to start a new winning streak against the Vikings Friday night at Maywood.