ANDERSON -- A blustery wind presented a challenge for McDonald County's bats and defense Tuesday afternoon, knocking down hard-hit balls and making routine fly balls more interesting than normal.
A solid pitching performance from two Mustangs pitchers gave McDonald County time to settle in and earn a 6-1 victory over Lamar to open Big 8 West Conference play.
"I was really, really proud of our guys," said McDonald County coach Kevin Burgi. "We saw some adversity early, and we answered back really, really well."
McDonald County (11-4, 1-0) trailed 1-0 going into the bottom of the third inning when the Mustangs scored three runs to go up 3-1. The score remained 3-1 until the bottom of the sixth when the Mustangs scored three more insurance runs.
The wind was an equalizer, and the Mustangs saw that in their very first at-bat when Cole Martin flew out to right field. On a normal day, the ball likely would have left the ballpark.
"We knew it was going to be tough after the first pitch when he got all of that baseball and it didn't go anywhere," Burgi said.
"I thought we found barrel pretty well all day. It's one of those things where you tip your cap to the wind on a couple of balls. We hit some balls into the wind pretty hard and they just kind of laid down. It is what it is."
Down 1-0, the Mustangs scraped together a rally in the third.
Fischer Sanny walked and Rylan Armstrong pinch ran and advanced to second on Colton Ruddick's bunt.
Martin drove in Armstrong with an RBI single to tie the game. Martin would steal second base and Tucker Walters followed with a walk, and Levi Helm had a hit.
Martin scored on a wild pitch and Walters would come around and score on an RBI groundout by Isaac Behm to make it 3-1.
In the sixth inning, Destyn Dowd walked and Sanny singled. Both scored when Martin roped a two-run double to left-center field to make it 5-1. Martin scored later in the inning to make it 6-1.
Martin finished with two of the Mustangs' seven hits, two runs and three RBIs.
"Cole's been solid, and we've seen him better," Burgi said. "The last swing of the day where he drives the ball in the left-center gap, that's really big. That means he's right, and we're excited to see it."
Helm also had two hits, while Cross Dowd had a hit and Destyn Dowd and Sanny each had a hit and a run. Behm added an RBI and Armstrong and Walters a run scored.
Helm (3-1) got the win on the mound, pitching 4 2/3 innings, allowing two hits with 10 strikeouts.
The only trouble Helm had came in the second inning when he walked the bases loaded and hit Lamar's Chase Querry to drive in the Tigers' only run.
Helm settled down over the next three innings.
"That's what Helm does," Burgi said. "He's been really, really good for us. I'm really proud of him. You want to talk about mental toughness? He lost the zone a little bit in the second and then he comes back and he commanded the zone."
Behm pitched the final 2 1/3 innings with one walk and one strikeout to record the save.
Ryan Davis took the loss for Lamar (5-3, 0-1).
Nixa 15, McDonald County 3
The Mustangs' four-game winning streak was snapped late Saturday afternoon with a run-rule loss at Nixa.
Nixa scored three in the first, four in the second and exploded for eight runs in the fourth inning.
McDonald County scored a run in the third and two in the fourth.
Cole Martin led the Mustangs with two hits, a run and three RBIs, including a home run. Isaac Behm had two hits, while Cross Dowd had a hit and Jack Parnell and Ryan Armstrong each scored runs.
Colton Ruddick, Destyn Dowd, Tucker Walters and Lane Pratt all pitched for the Mustangs.
McDonald County 7, Parkview 0
The Mustangs won their fourth straight -- and picked up their third consecutive shutout -- early Saturday afternoon against Springfield Parkview in Nixa.
The Mustangs plated four runs in the bottom of the first inning and added a single run in the second and two in the fifth.
McDonald County finished with 12 hits, led by two hits apiece from Cole Martin, Tucker Walters, Isaac Behm, Weston Gordon and Destyn Dowd.
Martin scored two runs, while Walters drove in a run and scored a run. Behm had one RBI, with Destyn Dowd scoring one run.
Fischer Sanny had a hit and two RBIs, while Jack Parnell also had a hit. Levi Helm also scored a run.
Weston Gordon pitched six shutout innings with nine strikeouts and three walks, scattering three hits.
Rylan Armstrong pitched a scoreless seventh with three strikeouts and one walk.
McDonald County 10, Providence Academy 0
McDonald County defeated Providence Academy (Ark.) in six innings on Friday, April 8, in Anderson.
The Mustangs scored a run in the first and two in the third. McDonald County added a run in the fourth, four in the fifth and two more in the sixth to get their second-straight run-rule victory.
Isaac Behm and Cross Dowd each had three hits to lead the Mustangs. Behm hit a home run and scored three runs and had three RBIs, while Dowd scored one run.
Levi Helm had two hits and scored two runs. Cole Martin had a hit and scored a run, while Destyn Dowd had a hit and RBI, Colton Ruddick scored a run and Jack Parnell two runs, a hit and RBI.
Cross Dowd got the complete-game win on the mound, allowing one hit, four walks and striking out eight batters.
McDonald County 10, Jay 0
The Mustangs rolled to a five-inning shutout of Jay (Okla.) on Thursday, April 7, in Anderson.
The Mustangs scored a run in the first, two in the second and one more in the third to take a 4-0 lead.
The score remained 4-0 until a six-run fifth inning gave the Mustangs the 10-run rule victory.
McDonald County had eight hits, led by two each from Cole Martin, Levi Helm and Tucker Walters.
Martin scored a run and drove in a run, while Helm scored a run and Walters scored two runs with an RBI.
Cross Dowd and Colton Ruddick each had one hit, scored one run and had two RBIs. Destyn Dowd and Jack Parnell also scored runs.
Isaac Behm scored two runs and had an RBI and was the winning pitcher with five shutout innings with nine strikeouts, three hits and three walks.
Up next
The Mustangs are scheduled to play the Monett Cubs at home on Thursday in another Big 8 West Conference game. Then on Saturday, the Mustangs host Neosho in a Class 5 District 7 game. McDonald County already had two district wins against Carl Junction (2-0, March 26) and Webb City (2-1, April 5).
GRAHAM THOMAS/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County senior Cole Martin steals second base in the third inning of Tuesday's home game against Lamar.
GRAHAM THOMAS/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County baseball players "shoot the bow" in the dugout as Tucker Walters bats with a 2-2 count during Tuesday's game against Lamar.