By MATT PIKE
The St. Joseph Mustangs continued their unbeaten run in MINK league play, beating the Chillicothe Mudcats on Wednesday evening 8-3 at Phil Welch Stadium.
The Mustangs fell behind first though, with the Mudcats opening the scoring in the second inning, Derin Douchet hitting a single to third base and scoring Tanner Sears. St. Joseph took the lead in the next inning, scoring four runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Savannah alum Truman Bodenhausen tied up the game with an RBI single into right field, scoring Lafayette alum Jayden Little and advancing Tyler Gundelfinger to third base. Gundelfinger scored on a double by Darius Freeman, and then the lead extended on a groundout by another Lafayette alum Brayden Luikart, driving in Bodenhausen. Jack Mosh drove in the final run of the frame with a double, bringing home Freeman for the 4-1 lead.
The Mustangs added one more run in the fifth inning on an RBI double by Dom Felix, driving in Freeman, before the Mudcats added one more run the next inning. A groundout by John Spoto scored J. Pinkknee, St. Joseph again answered Chillicothe’s run with a multi run inning, scoring three runs in the seventh inning.
A single by Luikart drove in Freeman, then with the bases loaded Trevor McCollum was hit by a pitch and Luikart would come in to score the second run of the inning. The bases still juiced, Mosh scored on a wild pitch by Ryotaro Hirayana. Trailing 8-2, the Mudcats scored their final run in the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly by Rafael Calcano, driving in pinch runner Fradnie Fernandez.
Landon Reith pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out seven, while walking one to earn the win. Benton alum Chris Coy pitched a scoreless inning of relief, striking out one and walking one. At the plate, Mosh led the way going 3-for-4 with one RBI and a run scored, walking once and hitting a double. Luikart was 2-for-5 with two RBI’s and a stolen base.
The Mustangs are now 8-1 on the season, and are 5-0 in MINK League play. St. Joseph stays at Phil Welch Stadium on Thursday for a matchup once again with the KC Monarchs, their third matchup of the year. First pitch at 6:30pm, gates open at 5:15.
