Mustangs Gain 2-1 Walk-off Win
ANDERSON — The McDonald County Mustangs knocked on the door all game long Tuesday before finally breaking through for a 2-1 walk-off win over the Webb City Cardinals.
The Mustangs improve to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the district while Webb City slips to 6-5.
“Our guys really competed,” said Mustangs’ head coach Kevin Burgi. “We were a hit away throughout the entire game. You kept knowing that you were going to get it eventually.”
The big hit — the first of two, actually — finally came in the bottom of the seventh inning, but not before the first two Mustang batters of the at-bat struck out. Cole Martin was then hit by a pitch and Weston Gordon smacked a double to left, sending Martin to third.
After Gordon was replaced at second by courtesy runner Dylan Igisomar, Levi Helm produced the second big hit with a shot to left field, bringing in both runs for the victory.
“Weston Gordon sitting there with terrible at-bats all day — with all due respect — and then piecing one together to get runners in scoring position is a huge thing,” said Burgi.
Webb City took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning on a ground ball out to the right side of the infield that brought a runner in from third.
But McDonald County kept trying to spark a rally, leaving a runner stranded at third in the bottom of the fourth and the bases loaded in the fifth.
Lane Pratt and Colton Ruddick walked in the fifth before Martin was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gordon then struck out for the second out and Helm flied out to the shortstop.
The Cardinals opened the sixth with a leadoff single, only to see the Mustangs erase the runner with a pickoff. The home team followed that out by catching a popup in foul territory and dialing up a ground ball out to keep stride with the visitors.
Isaac Behm led off the home half of the sixth with a double to the gap in right-center field, but after a strikeout, Tucker Walters, who had drawn a walk, was picked off at first base ahead of a grounder to first that ended the threat.
Walters was originally called safe on the play by the infield umpire but, after the Webb City coaching staff questioned the call, the two umpires discussed the play and the call was reversed.
“Things didn’t go our way,” said Burgi. “I don’t want to get into it but, at the same time, I’m really proud of our guys, the way they kept plugging away.”
Helm kept the Cardinals in check throughout the game on the mound in pushing his pitching record to 2-1 on the season with both wins coming in district play.
“I was just throwing the ball over the plate,” he said. “They were free swingers and they were going to put the ball in play. I just had to trust my defense and I got a couple of strikeouts here and there. They helped me out swinging at a few pitches and my defense played well today.”
The McDonald County defense was solid throughout the game and seemed to bear down even more after Webb City took the lead in the fourth, which gave Helm a boost.
“No errors gives you a lot of confidence in your defense,” he said. “You just throw the ball over the plate, they make the plays behind you and you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“I’m just so proud of the team,” Burgi said. “This is a really, really big win for us.”
Branson 9, McDonald County 4
Branson scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead in a victory over McDonald County at Branson on Friday, April 1.
Branson led 1-0 after the first inning, but McDonald County scored a run in the second and then plated three in the third to go up 4-1.
Branson got two runs back in the bottom of the third to pull within 4-3 before scoring five in the fourth to go up 8-4. Branson added a run in the sixth to set thef inal score.
Levi Helm pitched the first three innings before giving way to Weston Gordon, who took the loss. Isaac Behm also pitched for the Mustangs.
Gordon had two hits and scored a run, while Cole Martin, Behm, Helm, Tucker Walters, Cross Dowd, Destyn Dowd and Colton Ruddick each had a hit. Behn, Cross Dowd, Walters and Ruddick each had an RBI, while Helm, Behn and Destyn Dowd also scored runs.
Up next
The Mustangs are scheduled to return to action against Jay on Thursday, before hosting Providence Academy on Friday.