FRUITPORT – When a team is not hitting, good pitching and airtight defense are pretty crucial.

The Fruitport baseball team got part of that with another very good pitching performance on Thursday, but the defense turned out to be its downfall.

The Trojans were battling Holland Christian in a tight game, but two Fruitport errors in the third inning led to one run for the visiting Maroons, then two more in the sixth led to two more runs.

Fruitport finally got something going in the bottom of the seventh inning and avoided a no-hitter, but it was too little, too late. The Trojans lost 5-2, allowing Holland Christian to walk away with a three-game sweep of the Tuesday-Thursday O-K Blue conference series.

The loss dropped Fruitport to 3-5 overall on the season and 2-4 in conference play. The Trojans now have a four-game losing streak heading into Friday’s non-conference matchup against Montague.

A lack of offense was a problem for the Trojans in all three games against Holland Christian this week.

They lost by tight scores of 3-1 and 2-0 on Tuesday, and on Thursday managed only two hits, both coming in the seventh and final inning.

That led to a tough outcome for Fruitport pitcher Christian Kennedy, who tossed a strong game for six 1/3 innings, scattering seven hits with three strikeouts and no walks.

It came on the heels of strong pitching performances by two other Fruitport pitchers – Trevor Rusnak and Hudson Hazekamp – in the two losses on Tuesday.

Fruitport head coach Nick Reed was not overly upset after the latest loss, however, because he knows the bats will come alive soon enough.

“The bats were quiet all week,” Reed said. “We had some good swings early, but they didn’t fall. I like our approach and our aggressiveness at the plate. It’s early. We’re going to hit.”

If it weren’t for the Trojans’ leaky defense, Thursday’s game might have been a nail-biting pitching duel that went right down to the wire.

Holland Christian scored a run in the third inning on a leadoff single and an RBI double by Kyle Smith, but another run came home on two straight Fruitport errors.

The Maroons added two more runs in the top of the sixth without hitting the ball hard. They led off with an infield single, then loaded the bases on a Fruitport error and a bunt single.

The Trojans coaxed a grounder out of the next batter, but a throw to the plate got past the catcher, allowing two runners to cross the plate.

Holland Christian got its final run on an RBI double by Luke Mishmerhuizen in the top of the seventh.

Meanwhile, the Trojans failed to get anything going offensive for the first six innings, managing a walk in the first inning, then going down 1-2-3 in the second through sixth.

They finally generated some offense in the bottom of the seventh on singles by Braxton Ward and Ryan Bosch, followed by a Holland Christian error that allowed a run to score.

Fruitport loaded the bases after that and scored another run on an RBI fielders’ choice out by Avery Lambers.

But a strikeout and groundout ended the rally and the game.

Despite falling short, Coach Reed said he liked the way his team ignored the offensive frustration and battled all the way to the end.

“One of the things we don’t do is we don’t quit,” the coach said. “That will bode well for us going forward.”