By Whitney Keith
Mansfield, Mo. — With the new statewide pitching restrictions, many small schools are looking for efficiency in their starting pitching, and that’s what the pitchers brought Friday night in Mansfield, with a pitchers’ duel that lasted six innings.
Spencer Greene went seven innings for Mansfield with no runs, two hits, nine strikeouts, and three walks on 93 pitches.
“He pitched ahead, he kept them off balance, and he competed,” said Mansfield coach Gary Greene.
Cabool’s Dalton Carder threw seven innings as well, allowing two runs (one earned), eight hits (only one extra base), while striking out four and one walk on 99 pitches.
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“Carder threw really well for us, and our defense, especially up the middle, really made some nice catches,” said Bulldog coach Brady Dean.
The Lions ended up on top in the sixth inning of the contest due to wild throws by the Bulldogs and a hard line drive by junior Jacob Gray. The Bulldogs couldn’t answer in the top of the seventh, leaving the final score 2-0, Lions.
The Lions performed across the board at the plate, with seven of the nine-man lineup having hits. By contrast, only two of Cabool’s lineup had hits, both singles.
“We had guys periodically have hits through the lineup, but as a group, I felt that our performance at the plate could have been better,” Greene said.
Greene said some of the lack of hits could be contributed to nearly a week off for the squad due to poor weather conditions.
“Baseball is a game of habit and repetition and not being able to get on the field could be a factor,” he said. “However, we have a lot of juniors and seniors who should be able to mentally overcome that.”
The contest brought Mansfield’s record to 4-0, while it dropped Cabool’s record to 1-4.
“This game was really about who was going to break open the hitting first,” said Dean.
The Bulldogs will play Mountain Grove on Monday before starting play in the Plato Tournament.
The Lions will host the rival Hartville Eagles next Tuesday. Prior to the contest, which is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m., the Lions will host a ceremony to retire the jersey of Coach Doug Jones, who passed away earlier this year after a year-long battle with a cancerous tumor.
