What looked to be a high-scoring affair turned into a pitchers’ duel with a flair for the dramatic as Neosho outlasted Willard, 4-3, in a COC-Large matchup on Wednesday.
After allowing three runs in the bottom of the first, Neosho starter Bryce Slavens settled down and kept Willard off the scoreboard over the next six innings.
He came up big when it mattered most, striking out the Tigers’ final batter of the game after Willard had loaded the bases with two outs and put the winning run in scoring position.
PHOTOS: WILLARD VS. NEOSHO
Wildcats coach Danny Powers took a moment before that final batter to talk to Slavens on the mound.
“He said just don’t worry about anything,” said Slavens, a lefthander who finished with eight strikeouts. “He told me I’m all right.”
Powers had no reservations about Slavens ending the game for the Wildcats after pitching the first six innings.
“He’s capable of coming out and doing good things,” said Powers. “Right now, we have some guys banged up, so we didn’t have anyone to close the thing out anyway. I went out there and tried to keep him calm and let him know he’s going to finish the game win or lose, and we have confidence in him.”
Neosho scored what proved to be the winning run in the sixth inning. Marcus Crawford singled, then stole 2nd and 3rd. He scored on Manuel McHill’s RBI single.
There was plenty of offense to start the game, as Willard and Neosho combined for five runs in the first inning.
Neosho scored a pair of runs with two outs in the first. Austin Wren plated McHill with an RBI double. Wren would come run to score after Willard committed two errors.
“They had some errors in that first inning that we took advantage of,” said Powers. “They were uncharacteristic, with a few balls down at 3rd base got away from them. We took advantage of those, and we were able to capitalize with guys in scoring position.”
Willard pushed back in the bottom of the 1st, in what turned out to be its only scoring inning. Jordan Stevens and Dalton Morrow opened with singles, and Garyn Stewart sent them both home with a 2-run double.
Later, Stewart stole 3rd and would score on Neosho error to put Willard ahead 3-2. Neosho tied the game 3-3 in the third inning after Colton Marion walked, stole two bases then scored on a wild pitch.
Tomorrow, Willard (13-8 overall, 1-2 COC-Large) will host Republic, and Neosho (10-8 overall, 1-2 COC-Large) faces Ozark.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Neosho 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 — 4
Willard 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 3
Willard:
Derek Berry, pitched 6 innings, 3 strikeouts
Jordan Stevens, 1 run
Dalton Morrow, 1 run, pitched 1 inning, 3 strikeouts
Garyn Stewart, 2-RBI double, 1 run
Neosho:
Manuel McHill, 1 run, 1 RBI
Bryce Slavens, pitched 7 innings, 8 strikeouts
Austin Wren, RBI double, 1 run
