July hasn’t been a kind month to the Lawrence Outlaws.

While temperatures have increased, the American Legion team’s confidence has steadily decreased after five straight losses. The most recent setbacks happened Tuesday night in Manhattan’s doubleheader sweep at Free State High School.

“We’re just not sure what exactly is going on,” said Lawrence coach Ryan Goodwin after his team fell to 10-20 with 10-7 and 10-2 losses to Carson’s 17ers.

“We’re a talented team capable of being good, and it showed in the first game, then we go out there and play like we did in the second, and I don’t know what to think. Maybe it’s a lack of focus on their parts but also maybe the blame falls on the coaches. We probably should have pushed them harder earlier in the year.”

There was plenty of fight in the Outlaws in the first game of Tuesday’s twinbill.

As has been the case most of the season, Lawrence got behind in the first inning when Manhattan scored four runs.

But the Outlaws, who recently returned from a Fourth of July tournament in Leavenworth where they dropped three straight one-run games, answered with three runs in the fourth and plated two more in the sixth to cut their deficit to 10-5.

The rally continued into the seventh when Lawrence scored two more runs with doubles by Cameron Taylor and Matt Lane and a single by Chris Coleman.

But the comeback effort ended with a strikeout by John Maynard.

“The good thing is it’s over and in the past and we have tomorrow,” said Maynard, who probably would have been more than glad to trade his two singles from the second game to keep the rally going in the first.

There was no rally in the second game, though, minus the fact that the Outlaws tied the game up at 1-all after one.

That was all the offense Lawrence could scratch out. The Raiders managed just four hits compared to 14 by Manhattan.

The 17ers roughed up Lawrence starter David Arndt, scoring three runs each in the third, fourth and fifth innings.

In the fourth, Manhattan smashed back-to-back-to-back doubles followed by three straight singles. The 17ers added three more doubles in the fifth, which would ultimately end things.

“I know in the four losses before that second game tonight we battled hard,” Goodwin said. “I really don’t know in the second game.”

Maynard said that Goodwin’s speech after the loss might change the team’s focus when it heads to Kansas City today to play Post 199.

“We needed it,” Maynard said. “We need to gain some confidence and turn things around quickly.”

Goodwin said he’s confident in his team’s ability but now he will turn up the heat on them to try and make them more productive.

“We have to be tough right now,” Goodwin said. “I’m not going to let a team with this much talent underachieve on my watch.”

Manhattan 10, Lawrence 7

17’ers 401 302 0 Â 10 14 2

Outlaws 000 302 2 Â 7 7 0

W Â Matt Kilgore. L Â Heath Fanning.

Outlaw Highlights: Matt Lane 2-2, 3 runs; Chris Coleman 1-1, 2 runs, 3 walks.

Manhattan 10, Lawrence 2

17’ers 103 33 Â 10 14 0

Outlaws 101 00 Â 2 4 3

W Â Cody Harman. L Â David Arndt.

Outlaw Highlights: Daniel Dulin 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI; John Maynard 2-2, 2 singles.