Brock Burnett's walk-off RBI single lifted the McDonald County Mustangs to a 3-2 win May 7 over the East Newton Patriots in the Mustangs final home game of the 2015 season.
Donovan Taylor led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and went to second when Emitt Dalton was hit by a pitch. Jake Wilkie sacrificed the runners to second and third before Jamie Hanke was walked intentionally setting the stage for Burnett's game winning hit.
Victor Payne picked up the win by throwing two pitches in the top of the seventh to get the Mustangs out of a jam. Lakota Rose started the seventh in relief of Jamie Hanke, who allowed two runs on five hits while walking four and hitting one in six innings. Rose gave up a single to the leadoff man Sam Swartz, but retired the next two batters after two wild pitches moved Swartz to third base.
With left-hander Jacob Patterson coming to the plate, McDonald County coach Nick Martin went to lefty Dillion Lance, but Lance walked Patterson, putting runners on first and third.
Payne then came on to get Keynan Wade to ground out to third base on his second pitch to retire the side.
McDonald County scored single runs int he first and third. In the first, Dalton singled and scored on a single by Burnett. In the third, Dalton walked, Wilkie singled before Jake Wood drove in Dalton with a sacrifice fly.
Burnett and Donovan Taylor had two hits each to lead the Mustangs while Dalton, Wilkie and Hanke all had one.
The win gives McDonald County an overall record of 14-13 record and a 3-5 mark in the big 8 Conference, heading into its final regular season game May 12 at Fort Scott.
McDonald County plays Joplin in the opening round of the Missouri Class 5 District 12 Baseball Tournament at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16 in Carthage. The winner will face Republic in the semifinals at 7 p.m. on Monday May 18. The finals are set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20. Other teams in the tournament are Webb City, Carthage and Neosho.
Carthage
A sixth inning home run by the Carthage Tigers' Blaine Diggs snapped a scoreless pitching duel between the Tigers' Dausen Gourley and McDonald County's D. J. Madewell to lead Carthage to a 3-0 win May 4 at McDonald County High School.
After Diggs' homer, Carthage added two runs in the sixth off Madewell on a walk, an error, a bunt hit and a single. Lance worked a scoreless seventh, allowing a pair of hits.
Gourley held the Mustangs to just two hits, one each by Wilkie and Dagan Stites.
After the game, McDonald County honored its seven senior members of the 2015 team including Wilkie, Wood, Rose, Lance, Madewell, Josh Kinser and Ethan Eads.
Sports on 05/14/2015