A big night at the plate would power the McCracken County Mustangs to their second win over First Region competition in as many days, as 13 hits and a trio of three-run home runs helped them on their way to a 13-1 win over Marshall County, their fourth in a row.
“I thought our approach at the plate was great today, we were patient, didn’t chase out of the zone, and made the most out of any mistake pitches,” said McCracken County head coach Zach Hobbs, following the victory. “It was a great team win, and I’m proud of the guys for how resilient they’ve been so far this season.”
Following clean first innings for both the Marshals and Mustang, McCracken would strike in the second inning to take the ultimately decisive lead. After working a pair of walks off of Marshall starter Thomas Bagby, Briar Hall would come through for the Mustangs with one away, clearing the bases with a three-run shot to left field.
“Briar was great for us, he did well for us at the plate and really got us going there in the second,” said Hobbs, on Hall. By the end of the night, Hall would reach in all four plate appearances, adding two doubles and a walk as part of a 3-for-3 effort. “He’s coming back off an injury that he picked up the other weekend in Illinois, this was his only his second start back, so we’re glad to have him back. He made some big plays and gave us a spark.”
While Bagby and the Marshals would briefly get back on track by retiring the side in the third, another big inning for the Mustang bats in the fourth would put the lead further out of reach. Racking up four singles and another pair of walks, McCracken would hang four more runs across the frame, extending their advantage to seven.
As the bats widened the gap, starter Caden Kern and the Mustang defense would keep zeroes on the bottom half of the scoreboard, even with traffic on the basepaths for the Marshals. Escaping two-runner jams in both the fourth and fifth, Kern would finish his five-inning scoreless with three strikeouts against six hits and a walk.
“I don’t think he was as sharp as he normally is, but Caden still pitched a great game for us, he found a way to compete, and the defense played well behind him,” Hobbs continued. “We work hard on the defense, our staff does a great job with them in practice, and that’s relayed onto the field in games. These guys want the ball hit to them, and to have the opportunity to make a play and support our pitchers.”
Two more three-run home runs off the bats of Kendrick Dunning and Brady Thompson would move the game into run rule territory in the sixth, setting up Gage Dugan to seal up the 13-1 victory in the bottom of the frame.
“It was just a really good day for us,” Hobbs concluded. “We’re back to being healthy, and that’s the number one thing for us. The plate approach has been getting better, we’ve simplified it, and we’re playing some clean baseball now. We’re relaxed, we’ve responded well to the breaks that have gone against us, and we just want to keep it rolling.”
Now, the Mustangs will shoot for their fifth straight win when they return to action on Thursday, returning home to host Munster, Indiana.
Game stats
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 13, MARSHALL COUNTY 1
MCCR 0 3 0 4 0 6 X — 13 13 0
MRSH 0 0 0 0 0 1 X — 1 6 0
WP: C. Kern; LP: T. Bagby
2B: MCCR — B. Hall 2, L. Grace
HR: MCCR — B. Hall, B. Thompson, K. Dunning
TB: MCCR — B. Hall 8, B. Thompson 4, K. Dunning 4, L. Grace 3, C. Kern 2, L. Gagnon 2, O. Aldridge 1, W. Fox 1; MRSH — J. Kinsall 2, A. Clevidence 1, H. Doughty 1, K. Dunn 1, S. Shadowen 1
HBP: MCCR — G. Reeves; MRSH — A. Clevidence
SF: MCCR — K. Dunning
RECORDS: McCracken County (5-4); Marshall County (6-2)