MCHS Sweeps Doubleheader
MCDONALD COUNTY BEATS CASSVILLE, RIVERTON
Dagan Stites’ two-out line shot down the left field line in the bottom
of the eighth inning stayed fair by a few feet giving the McDonald County Mustangs a 4-3 walk-off win over Riverton, Kan., and a sweep of a round-robin doubleheader with the
Rams and Cassville Wildcats at McDonald County High School.
Dagan Stites’ two- out line shot down the left field line in the bottom of the eighth inning stayed fair by a few feet giving the McDonald County Mustangs a 4- 3 walk- off win over Riverton, Kan., and a sweep of a May 2 round-robin doubleheader with the Rams and Cassville Wildcats at McDonald County High School.
Brock Burnett started the winning rally by leading off the eighth inning with single. Jake Wood sacrificed before Stites hit the game winner just inside the foul line.
Stites’ hit made a winner out of Victor Payne, who pitched a perfect top half of the inning. Tyler Sellers went the first four and a third innings, allowing three runs on four hits while walking four and striking out one. Relievers D.J. Madewell, Dillion Lance and Payne combined for three and two-thirds of an inning of hitless relief.
McDonald County scored three runs in the bottom of the first and then went scoreless until the eighth. Emitt Dalton tripled to lead off the game. Jake Wilkie and Jamie Hanke walked to lead the bases before a wild pitch led to the first run of the game. Brock Burnett’s slow roller was thrown into right field, allowing the final two two runs of the inning to score.
Sellers struggles with his control led to all three of the Rams runs. In the second, the sophomore right-hander walked a batter and hit another leading to two Riverton runs. The Rams tied the game in the fourth on two hit batters, a single and a bases loaded walk.
McDonald County was held to just five hits, singles Stites and Payne, doubles by Wood and Wilkie and Dalton’s triple.
McDonald County began the day with 2-1 win over Cassville behind the pitching of Lakota Rose and Payne. Rose picked up the win, allowing one run on two hits in six innings while striking our four and walking none. Payne allowed only a walk in the seventh to pick up the save.
McDonald County broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth on singles by Payne and Jarrett Sanny and an RBI grounder by Donovan Taylor. The Mustangs scored their first run in the first on singles by Wilkie and Hanke and an RBI grounder by Wood.
The sweep gives the Mustangs a 13-12 overall record, 2-5 in the Big 8 Conference, heading into their May 4 game at MCHS against Carthage. McDonald County hosts East Newton May 7 in its final home game of the season before closing out the regular season at Fort Scott, Kan., on May 12.
Carl Junction
Carl Junction scored nine runs in the final three innings to break open a close game on the way to a 12-2 win over McDonald County May 1 at Carl Junction High School.
Hanke took the loss for the Mustangs, giving up 10 runs in five innings. Lance allowed the Bulldogs final two runs in an inning of work.
Dalton and Wilkie had doubles and Burnett and Wood had singles to account for the Mustangs four hits.
Quapaw, Okla.
Sellers led the McDonald County Mustangs to a 10-0 win April 28 over Quapaw, Okla., at McDonald County High School, picking up his first varsity win in his first starting assignment.
Sellers allowed just two hits while striking out four and walking none. Madewell worked an inning of relief without allowing a hit.
McDonald County took a 2-0 lead in the second on a walk to Victor Payne and doubles by Stites and Donovan Taylor. McDonald County added a run in the third of three walks and a fielder’s choice before erupting for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.
Stites had his second double of the game and Hanke also had a two-base hit in the big inning. McDonald County received singles from Sanny, Dalton, Wilkie and had the benefit of three walks and a hit batter.
Stites, Dalton, Wilkie each had two hits and Hanke, Sanny and Taylor had one to lead the offense.
Webb City
What appeared early to be a pitcher’s duel turned into a 13-1 Webb City rout April 27 at MCHS.
The Cardinals scored a first inning run off McDonald County’s Mason Hendrix on a bunt hit, a sacrifice, an error and a fielder’s choice.
Hendrix and Webb City’s Colten Adams then matched zeroes until the top of the fourth when the Cardinals scored three runs on three hits and three walks off Hendrix before Rose came in and got the final out of the inning.
McDonald County answered in the bottom half of the inning scoring its only run of the game on a hit by Hanke, a walk to Wood and an RBI single by Payne.
Webb City then scored three runs in the fifth off Rose, one in the sixth off Lance and added five runs in the seventh off of Payne.
Adams and Derrick Newby, who relieved Adams in the fifth, held McDonald County to three singles, two by Payne and one by Hanke.