Pitching and defense win baseball games as the McDonald County 18U summer team proved last week, going 4-1 by allowing just 10 runs in five games.
McDonald County began the week by splitting a doubleheader with Lamar on June 23 at McDonald County High School.
Lamar claimed the seven-inning opener 4-3, scoring the winning run in the top of the seventh off of Lakota Rose on a hit batter, a base hit, an intentional walk and a fielder's choice.
"It came down to the little things that cost us the game," said coach Skyler Rawlins. "We ran ourselves out of two innings and we made some mistakes in a couple of defensive situations. I thought we swung the bats good enough to win."
Mason Hendrix went the first five innings, allowing three runs on six hits, including two in the third when Lamar put together four consecutive singles after Hendrix retired the first two batters of the inning.
Lamar added a run in the fifth without the benefit of a hit, scoring on a walk, a ground out and a sacrifice fly.
McDonald County scored a run in the fourth on a hit by Dagan Stites and a two-out RBI single by Hendrix. McDonald County added a pair of runs on just one hit in the sixth to tie the game. Brock Burnett reached on an error to lead off the inning. Jaime Hanke singled and Stites walked to load the bases before a wild pitch and an error led to two runs.
McDonald County was held to singles by Trenton Frazier, Stites, Hendrix and Hanke.
In the five-inning nightcap, Tyler Sellers went the distance to lead McDonald County to a 5-1 win. Sellers gave up one run on five hits.
"Tyler threw well," Rawlins said. "He got better as the game progressed. His change-up had their hitters off balance late in the game. Hanke had a big hit in the third. He swung the bat well in both games."
After taking a 1-0 lead in the first on a hit batter and an RBI ground out by Burnett, McDonald County broke the game open with a four-run third, scoring all four runs with two out. Dylan Teague reached on an error and Emanuel Baisch walked to set up the inning with Burnett, Hanke and Stites adding RBI singles.
Carthage
Hanke was overpowering in leading McDonald County to a 2-0 nine-inning win over Carthage on June 24 at MCHS. He went the distance, allowing just two hits while striking out 10 despite only throwing 85 pitches in nine innings.
"Jaime pounded the strike zone," Rawlins said. "He mixed his pitches real well and hit his spots on just about every pitch."
Hanke's only walk came with two out in the ninth.
McDonald County broke a scoreless tie in the seventh, scoring two runs on one hit. Victor Payne led off the inning with a double. He moved to third on a sacrifice by Trenton Frazier and continued home when Frazier's bunt was thrown away. Frazier scored the second run when Emitt Dalton was hit by a pitch and got in a run down while trying to steal to allow Frazier to scamper home.
Payne, Hendrix and Burnett each had doubles while Dalton had two singles to lead the offense.
Cassville
Frazier and Austin Davis picked up wins in a doubleheader sweep of Cassville on June 26 at MCHS.
Frazier shut out Cassville over the first four innings in McDonald County's 8-3 win in the opener. Cassville scored all three runs off Stites in the fifth on two hits, two walks and an error. Payne worked a scoreless seventh, allowing a hit and a walk.
McDonald County scored all eight of its runs in the first four innings. Dalton doubled and scored on an error in the first before Seth Shockley doubled in two runs in the second.
McDonald County then scored three runs in the third on singles by Burnett, Frazier, Davis and a two-run triple by Stites. McDonald County's final run came on a walk and singles by Stites and Frazier in the fourth.
Frazier had three singles while Payne and Dalton each added a double and a single while Stites had a triple and single to lead the offense. Hits by Shockley, Burnett, Davis and Caleb Curtis rounded out McDonald County's 13-hit attack.
"We swung the bats well," Rawlins said. "Emitt got us started and the middle of the lineup had some big hits."
Davis went three scoreless innings to lead McDonald County to a 6-2 win in the second game. Rose worked a scoreless fourth before Payne gave up two runs in the fifth.
McDonald County scored two runs in the first, one in the second and third and added two more in the fourth. Leading the offense were Baisch with two singles and Burnett, Teague and Dalton with one each.
McDonald County closes out its season this week when it hosted Seneca on July 1 before traveling to Lamar on July 2.
Sports on 07/02/2015