Despite the several errors on Community R-6 on Thursday, it stayed within striking range.

Community R-6 vs Cairo Photo Gallery

However, there were too many mistakes made by the Trojans at home against Central Activities Conference rival and Class 1 No. 7 Cairo, so the margin kept growing and Community lost 11-6. The Trojans allowed eight unearned runs and eight runs in the final three innings.

Head coach Joel Krato said Community (9-6, 4-2 CAC) played well in some aspects as it tallied 11 hits and responded to about every offensive inning Cairo (11-3, 6-1 CAC) had. There were just too many miscues to decrease the deficit any more than the 3-2 that was maintained after the second inning.

“It was just unfortunate mistakes that happened at crucial moments,” Krato said. “They got the hit when they needed it. We had multiple times where we could’ve made something happen, but we just didn’t. That’s baseball. You do a lot of good things, but it’s baseball. How many times did they score with two outs on a wild pitch or on a two-out ball at the end of the cap, and we hit a ball on the barrel and they catch it with two outs?”

Eli Johnson remained hot at the plate, hitting safely in five straight at-bats tracing back to the previous game against Glasgow, coming through with a two-RBI single with two outs to make it 3-2 Cairo after two innings. After that, the teams exchanged zeroes until the Trojans ran into three infield errors in the fifth inning that allowed Cairo to score four runs.

The Trojans also had to cover the final two innings without their No. 1 pitcher Mason Carroll after his pitch count ballooned too much in a three-run first inning for Cairo. The Bearcats fouled off a ton of pitches to hand Carroll a 35-pitch inning. Carroll retired 10 of 11 batters before allowing the next Cairo hit and had nine strikeouts, eight hits and three earned runs out of seven total.

“They were ready to play and fouled off a ton of pitches,” Krato said. “They were sitting first-pitch fastball and were ready to be aggressive. Carroll throws a ton of strikes. When a pitcher throws a ton of strikes, you’re trying to sit first-pitch fastball.”

Cooper Rohan came in and allowed four runs on two hits and two walks, but all of those runs went as unearned. Community cut its 7-2 deficit to 7-5 after the fifth inning thanks to a lazy fly RBI single by Caden Thomas and a missed catch on a pop-up that allowed two runs to score.

Krato said the Trojans’ offense did well against a talented Cairo pitcher Logan Hughes — 11 hits, six runs (two earned), four strikeouts and three walks in 6⅔ innings — by always giving themselves a chance.

“We were putting balls in play,” Krato said. “We were able to communicate to the hitters what pitch they were throwing. We put a ton of balls in play, and that’s against a kid that’s potentially going to be the conference MVP.”

Lane Carter was another standout in the lineup as he finished 3-for-4, remaining vigilant on the basepaths when it was a “scratch and claw” effort for Community, as Krato told his dugout.

“You’re in Class 1 baseball so put the ball in play,” Krato said. “They’re not going to make every play. We didn’t make every play. They’re very good defensively, and they didn’t make every play.”

Community has to focus on one opponent North Shelby (5-3) at 5 p.m. on the road Monday before it worries about its next state-ranked conference matchup. The Trojans host Class 1 No. 10 Pilot Grove (9-5, 6-0 CAC) at 5 p.m. Tuesday, with hopes that Thursday’s game against Cairo will help them in the future.

“It’s unfortunate we didn’t play our best game of the year,” Krato said. “If we do, I think we win. I’m looking forward to see how we respond. This game is where we were playing for (a conference title), but it is somewhat irrelevant because we play the next day. If this was the last game of the year, it would absolutely suck terribly, but it’s not the last game of the year.”