When all was said and done early Tuesday morning, the baseball game between the Neosho Nighthawks and the Carthage Merchants was a game for the ages.

That is for those who bothered sticking around for all 4 hours and 36 minutes it took to get all of the outs.

A two-run top of the 11th inning, sparked by a Caleb Fierro double, helped No. 4-seed Carthage pull out a big victory over Neosho, 20-18, in 11 innings in the early hours this morning at McDonald County High School.

The victory advances the Merchants, now 20-22, to the winner’s bracket final against Cassville Post 118 Wednesday, while sending the two-time defending American Legion District 15 champions into the loser’s bracket.

“Carthage came up with big hit after big hit, and you got to give them credit,” said Neosho coach Eddie Crupper. “We weren’t able to get that last run in against (Kyle) Wicklund. I was proud of how we came back. I feel like we got some bad breaks.

“This is easily the toughest lost I have ever had since I have been here.”

Carthage coach James Kinder was very pleased with the hard-fought victory.

“We kept coming back and Neosho did the same thing,” said Kinder. “We got the hits when it mattered.”

The meeting between the two teams had so many turns, curves, ups, downs and momentum swings it would be hard to see why anyone would leave the game until it was “officially” over.

It appeared a few times through the game, which started at 8:01 p.m., that it was “over”, but just when that happened, the unexpected happened.

In the sixth inning, the Merchants were a mere 12 outs away from wrapping up a pretty impressive victory, holding a dominating 13-7 lead over Neosho.

In that inning for Carthage, Brian Poston hit a three-run homer — the second three-run shot of the day for the Merchants — to give his team a six-run lead.

Neosho (22-12) chipped away just enough, and by the bottom of the seventh inning, the game was tied at 13-13. Tanner Pogue had the big hit of the inning, a game-tying three-run homer run to center field.

A pair of costly errors by the Nighthawks in the top of the eighth inning led to two more runs for the Merchants, making it 15-13. Even that lead wasn’t safe for very long.

Carter Marion singled past a drawn-in infield and Ty Anderson hit a sacrifice fly for
Neosho, as the score was knotted again.

Both teams had a chance to pull out the victory in the ninth and final inning, but were not able to. Carthage had runners at the corners with one out, but a fielder’s choice nabbed the runner at third base and a fly ball ended the scoring threat.

Neosho had a runner at second base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but he was left stranded on a flyball.

The marathon game, then past 11 p.m. in the ninth inning, continued.

Carthage fans probably thought the game was over in the 10th inning, as Fierro delivered a one-out, three-run home run to right field on a full count.

The Nighthawks intentionally walked Stephen Poston to put him on base with Dalton Cossey, who was at third base after a walk and two passed balls.

Fierro, after Poston’s walk, launched his home run setting off a big celebration.
Carthage actually loaded the bases after the home run on a walk, an error and a hit by pitch, but Neosho reliever Dallas Randen got a strikeout and a pop fly, leaving the score at 18-15.

Again, as you haven’t picked up on the trend, a three-run lead wasn’t safe for Carthage this time around.

Anthony Westfield singled and Carter Marion followed with a double to put runners in scoring position. Ty Anderson singled to left field to score Westfield, prompting Carthage to bring Wicklund to the mound. Drew Miller then grounded out to shortstop to bring home Marion, making it 18-17.

Kyle Dickens then delivered an infield single to third base to score Anderson, tying the game at 18-18. Dickens would get to third base on a passed ball and a wild pitch, but didn’t score, as Wicklund got two strikeouts.

In the top of the 11th inning, Cossey, in his 8th at-bat of the game, walked. A passed ball moved him to second base and he was joined on the bases by Stephen Poston, who drew a one-out walk.

Fierro then hit a two-run double to the opposite field to make it 20-18.

That, folks, was the difference in the game.

“He has been struggling the last couple games, I think he maybe had one hit,” said Kinder. “He punched it in when we needed it.”

“We used everybody today and everybody did something positive,” said Crupper.

He went on, “I think what cost us the game was not getting the run in the bottom of the ninth inning. We also couldn’t get the runner home in the 10th inning. We couldn’t close the deal. We couldn’t get the big hit when we needed it.

“If we are able to comeback from this it will be a Herculanean task. We have got to win
five games in a row. We have done that before.”