The Edward Jones Invitational, a pool of games hosted by McCracken County’s baseball squad, went underway on Friday. The Mustangs and Marshall County each took on the Knights from Triad, Illinois, where McCracken fended off a late rally to win 10-8, while Marshall nearly knotted the game after a three-run deficit, but ultimately fell 4-3.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 10, TRIAD 8
The Mustangs used timely hitting combined with lockdown pitching to get this win, and improve their record to 13-5 on the year.
“Man we competed,” McCracken head coach Zach Hobbs said after the win. “First of all, they’re a very good ball cub. They weren’t gonna quit when they got down, and they kind of smacked us a little bit by cutting the game to a two-run lead. We came back and threw a punch, and our offensive approach today was really good.”
After a scoreless first frame from both teams. Luke Whiteside opened up the game’s scoring for McCracken by ripping a double down the left field line that scored both Gage Reeves and Will Fox.
In the next inning, Kendrick Dunning left his mark on this game with a deep blast to left-center field, clearing the wall for a two-run homer, his third of the season.
“Kendrick’s a really good hitter. It was great to see him get going,” Hobbs said.
McCracken continued the trend of multiple runs in consecutive innings, this time plating three. Lucas Gagnon, Reeves, and Fox all tallied RBI singles to drive in those runs, bringing the McCracken lead to seven.
The Knights came extremely close to scoring in the fifth. With a runner on first and two outs, a Knight ripped a ball down the left field line, but Luke Whiteside tracked the ball on a full sprint and made a diving catch on the line to prevent the hit and save a run.
Triad started to make some noise in the sixth. They closed the gap significantly, plating four runs in the inning. The first two came in without the ball ever leaving the infield, and the final two were driven in with an RBI double.
In the bottom half with only a three-run lead, the Mustangs once again responded and added three of their own, now leading 10-4.
Triad made the most of their final opportunity at the dish. After scoring one and having a pair of runners on, Triad’s Hasquin sent a ball over the left field wall for a three run homer, cutting their deficit to just two. After that, Owen Aldridge settled in on the mound and recorded the final outs, the game ending with a score of 10-8.
“Baseball is a game where you can’t get too up when things are going good, and you can’t get down when things are going bad. You gotta play every pitch as every pitch. After they scored those runs in the sixth, inning was really proud of the way we didn’t try to do too much and overswing. Credit to these guys for staying calm and staying composed.”
McCracken opted to use this game to get their three main starters some limited work, as Caden Kern, Josh Pernod, and Will Fox all took the mound. Kern started the game and earned the win with two innings of action, allowing one hit and striking out two. Penrod’s lone inning was perfect, allowing no baserunners and fanning a pair. Fox kept a clean sheet in his two frames, just one Knight reaching base.
“We threw five different pitchers today just to get everything set up for next week in the district,” Hobbs said. We were just getting everybody work in a game. I was really pleased with their performance at the plate.”
McCracken still has plenty of baseball left to be played in the invitational, and are slated for a pair of games on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. They take on Apollo in the early game, then face off against Edwardsville, Illinois as their last game of the weekend.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 10, TRIAD 8
TRI0 0 0 0 0 4 4- 8 6 3
MCC0 2 2 3 0 3 x- 10 13 1
WP: C Kern ; LP: P Goodfield
2B: MCC- G Reeves, L Whiteside, W Fox; TRI- K Rocca
HR: MCC- K Dunning; TRI- B Hasquin
TB: MCC- K Dunning 5, G Reeves 4, W Fox 4, L Whiteside 2, B Hall 1, B Thompson 1, L Gagnon 1, L Grace 1; TRI- B Hasquin 5, A Bugger 2, K Rocca 2, B Yates 1
HBP: MCC- K Dunning; TRI- B Hasquin
SF: B Thompson
SB: B Thompson, W Buckhalter