COLONY — The Marmaton Valley Wildcats reignited a local rivalry after upsetting the Crest Lancers in the finale of Thursday’s Three Rivers League doubleheader.
After being on the receiving end of a 16-1, run-rule thumping by the Lancers, the Wildcats regrouped for a 9-2 victory as junior pitcher Tyler Lord tallied four strikeouts while holding Crest to just one earned run. Marmaton Valley senior Dominic Smith came on in relief for the two-strikeout save in the seventh.
“I was not thinking about it. I just threw. I knew what I could do,” Lord said. “I feel really excited. We have not beat [Crest] in my career and I know we haven’t beat them during Dom’s career.”
If the opening frame of game one was any indication, the Wildcats seemed in for a long night after Crest jumped out to a double-digit advantage with an 11-run inning. Senior first baseman Kade Nilges sparked the Lancers’ barrage with an RBI single, the first of his team-leading four RBIs in the opener, then junior pitcher Jensen Barker drove in Nilges as Crest took control and poured on the runs from there.
“I try to keep my swing simple. My main focus is to hit line drives and get on base,” Nilges said.
Barker finished the opener with a strikeout over three innings and had an RBI while hitting in 2 of 3 at-bats. Nilges was the RBI leader while hitting in 3 of 4 appearances, followed by junior Drake Weir, who was a perfect 2 for 2 with three RBIs.
“I’m just not over thinking, and trying to get on base,” Weir said.
Marmaton Valley seemed destined for a tough game in the finale, too, after an infield error gave Crest an early 1-0 lead.
A pair of walks put runners in scoring position for MV. Freshman third baseman Thomas Allee drove in a pair of his runners with an RBI single to left field. .
Junior outfielder Garrett Morrison made it 3-1 with an RBI double, followed by RBIs from junior Todd Stevenson and Smith.
“They knew we came out flat and picked it up,” Marmaton coach Adam Borth said. “It was nothing I said. They were ready to go. Having [Lord] on the mound again was a good spark. We knew we had a shot. Anytime we take the field we know we have a shot if the pitching is on, and it was on in that second game.”
Proving the second inning was not a fluke, RBIs from Allee and Smith gave the Wildcats a 8-1 advantage. As Lord kept Crest off the scoreboard, he received additional run support from a Morrison RBI single in the seventh as Marmaton Valley held on for the win.
“It was just our 0-2 swings. We worked a lot on it [Wednesday] and that helped,” Allee said. “It was not my first time facing them. [Freshman Kole Walter] is a good pitcher. I knew what I had to do.”
Allee and Smith ended the night tied for the team-lead in RBIs with three each. Morrison picked up a pair of RBIs while hitting in 2 of 4 appearances. Following Friday’s action, the Lancers have a 14-6 record and 14-4 in the Three Rivers League. Marmaton Valley sits at 10-8 overall and 9-5 in league play.
The Wildcats return to the diamond May 1 while hosting another Three Rivers League rival in Yates Center. The Lancers return Monday for a non-league game against KC Christian.
