By MATT PIKE
The St. Joseph Mustangs pitching staff gave up just two hits, and allowed just four baserunners total, as the offense put up another dominant performance in a 12-0 shutout win over the NEMO Craze at Phil Welch Stadium.
Mustangs starting pitcher Jaren Guck of Northwest Missouri State threw five innings, giving up just one hit and walking one, striking out five, lowering his season ERA to 0.90, per the MINK Leagues stats. Michael Infraca walked one on an inning of relief and Austin Nace gave up the other hit in relief, as St. Joseph pitchers combined for nine strikeouts overall.
St. Joseph put up runs in five consecutive innings, first scoring three runs in the second frame. Justin George scored the opening run on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Gundelfinger. Later in the inning, Savannah alum Truman Bodenhausen drove in Lafayette alum Jayden Little and Easton Phillipe with a two RBI single. Two more runs scored in the third inning, both on wild pitches as Jack Mosh and Benton alum Chris Coy each scored on a wild pitch, pushing the lead to 5-0.
Another two runs scored in the fourth inning, a sacrifice fly by Lafayette alum Brayden Luikart driving in Bodenhausen. Darius Freeman came home to score in the inning on a balk. In the fifth, Bodenhausen drove in another run with a single, bringing home Gundelfinger. Then in the sixth, another two runs scored, a sacrifice fly by Coy scoring George and a double by Little driving in Phillipe extending the Mustangs lead to 10-0.
The final two runs of the game scored in the eighth inning as George scored his third run of the game on a single from Phillipe, who also later scored, unearned, on a wild pitch.
Little led the way at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and one RBI. George was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and a walk with three runs scored. Phillipe was also perfect at the plate going 2-for-2 with three walks, scoring three runs and driving one run in.
The Mustangs are now 14-2 on the season, 9-1 in the MINK League, and remain at home tomorrow to take on the Jefferson City Renegades. First pitch is at 7pm, gates open at 5:30 at Phil Welch Stadium,
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.
