In a matchup of the two area summer collegiate baseball teams, a few well placed hits made the difference as the Joplin Outlaws beat the visiting Crowder Dirtbags, 3-2, Friday night at Joplin Athletic Complex.
“It was a good game for us, we just couldn’t get the clutch hits,” Crowder Dirtbags coach Joe Ketchum said.
The story of the game boiled down to the Outlaws coming up with the clutch hits, ironically, coming after being no-hit for most of the game.
Former Crowder College and Missouri Southern signee Bubba McGaughy was nearly perfect through five innings of work, holding the Outlaws hitless and striking out five.
His counterpart, Joplin’s Eddie Donovan (Trinity College) was just as good, but he lost his no-hitter in the fifth inning.
But, the one hit he allowed, broke a scoreless game.
Crowder (2-4) got a pair of runners on base in the fifth inning when Cameron Beaver (Missouri Southern) reached on an error and moved up when Kevin Burgi was hit by a pitch. A passed ball moved them up a base, which set up Blake Hageman’s two-run single to center field.
Hageman got to third base, with one out, but was left stranded.
The game was decided over the next two at-bats by the Outlaws (5-7).
Joplin tallied a run without a hit in the fifth inning and did so with two outs on the board. Sam Hansen (Texas-Arlington) was hit by a pitch and Thomas Lundborg (Arkansas State) was walked. Kason Koelsch (Missouri Southern) then reached on an error to load the bases.
New Mexico State’s Wes Starkes walked with the bases full to force in a run. McGaughy got out of the inning with a pop up and left with a 2-1 lead.
Joplin got some more key two-out hitting in the sixth inning.
Scott Bradbury (Central Missouri) was the first to get on base, drawing a one-out walk. Jared Schlehuber (Oral Roberts) then singled to right field to put two on. Schlehuber’s hit came right after he hit a pop up that fell in front of the Outlaws’ dugout.
With runners on the corners now – Bradbury went first to third – Kelton Rule (Fort Hays State) hit a RBI single to tie the game.
A groundout moved the runners up and then Lundborg hit the go-ahead run with a single.
Crowder stranded two runners in the sixth inning – on a walk and an error – and stranded another three in the eighth inning. Travis Briggs hit an RBI double in the eighth with two outs for Crowder’s second and final hit.
