The Marmaton Valley Wildcats’ will have a task ahead of them Thursday as they make a late run up the Three Rivers League standings while facing the 13-3 Crest Lancers.
With only one league loss, the Lancers seem the team to beat in the TRL and the Wildcats could play spoiler to Crest’s hopes of a league title having won seven of their last 10 games — including a pair of contentious victories over the Erie Red Devils.
Junior pitcher Tyler Lord picked up the win in the opener with eight strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings while allowing two walks. Junior reliever Todd Stevenson and senior Dominic Smith spelled Lord with a combined five strikeouts.
Stevenson put the Wildcats on the scoreboard in the second inning, when he reached home plate on a wild pitch, then gave Marmaton Valley the lead after reaching home on another wild pitch in the fourth. A bases-loaded walk made it 3-1 by the end of the fourth, then an RBI double by freshman third baseman Thomas Allee was all MVHS needed for the win.
The Wildcats rallied from a seven-run deficit to make a game of the finale, but came up short in extra innings as the Red Devils took the finale. Despite featuring five different pitches, freshman Kris McVey took the loss. After trailing 9-0 heading into the fourth inning, Marmaton Valley found its footing with a pair of runs in the third on a Lord RBI single and an RBI double by junior catcher Garrett Morrison.
In the fourth inning, a bases-loaded walk then a two-RBI Lord single cut Erie’s lead to eight runs before RBIs by Smith, Morrison and Allee, then an Allee two-RBI double made the game a more manageable 14-13. A seventh-inning, two-RBI Stevenson double took the game into extra innings, but Marmaton Valley could not hold on as Erie escaped with a 16-15 win.
Following Friday’s doubleheader, Marmaton Valley Wildcats kept their record even at 7-7. They could change that Thursday on the road at Crest, but that requires them to beat the 13-3 Lancers. First pitches for Thursday’s doubleheader are 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
