McCracken County beat the No. 2 ranked team in Illinois, Triad, 5-1 on Friday night in their eighth out-of-state matchup of the season.
The Mustangs only have five losses to their name this season, all to out-of-state opponents. This highlights McCracken’s dominance in the local ranks.
Head Coach Zach Hobbs says he makes sure to schedule these out of state schools for a reason and they play a huge role in their success in Kentucky.
“We play these quality out-of-state opponents so we can all chase state championships,” Hobbs said. “We kind of help each other. They will tell me things that I can improve on and I’ll tell them that about their club.”
This particular matchup for the Mustangs was an opportunity to exchange baseball knowledge with a top state title contender in Illinois, and Hobbs said this win meant a little more.
“This is the best regular season win we’ve had all year,” Hobbs said. “We think we have to play a really tough schedule to prepare us.”
This monumental win for the Mustangs was highlighted by junior shortstop Kendrick Dunning, who hit an inside the park home run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hobbs wasn’t entirely sure if Dunning was going to make it all the way home, but signaled for him to pass anyway.
“I was waving him in and probably got a little excited when he passed me and I said ‘dude you’re hosed, my bad just don’t run into the catcher,’ ” Hobbs said. “Then I got pretty pumped but man I love his aggressive approach there on that swing.”
Dunning’s homer brought in two runs for the Mustangs and increased their lead to 5-1. With no runs scored by either team in the first four innings, and not too many plays to write home about, Dunning knew he had to seize his moment when it came.
“I saw a 3-0 pitch I could hit and I was tired of rolling over all night,” Dunning said. “My eyes lit up, stayed through the ball and I got a good swing on it.”
The ball was sent to deep center field, hitting the fence and nearly going over, but Dunning wouldn’t settle for a triple.
“I thought I was going to have to stop at third and then I see coach Hobbs halfway down the line and he’s waving me on.”
Dunning said he wasn’t sure he was going to make it, but when your coach signals you home with an opportunity to do something special you have to go for it.
Like his coach, Dunning uses these out-of-state games to improve, saying that the competition is really tough.
“These out-of-state schools are no joke,” Dunning said. “It really helps us get better and be ready for the competition around here.”
The out-of-state games are paying off, with the Mustangs still undefeated against in-state opponents. But they will have that record tested on Saturday against Trinity (Louisville).
It’s a home game for McCracken against one of the top teams in Kentucky. The first pitch is set for noon.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 5, TRIAD, IL 1
TRD 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 6 3
MCHS 0 0 0 0 3 2 X — 5 5 0
3B: TRD — H. Bernreuter
HR: MC — K. Dunning
TB: MC — K. Dunning 5, B. Casebier 1, B. Truitt 1, W. Fox 1; TRD — H. Bernreuter 3, H. Bugger 3, K. Seipp 1, S. Brunson 1
HBP: MC — J. English 2, W. Fox; TRD — D. Winslow 2, B. Hasquin
SB: MC — K. Dunning 2, B. Casebier
E: TRD — D. Winslow, H. Bugger, S. Brunson
RECORDS: MCCRACKEN COUNTY (15-5); TRIAD (16-2)