Down 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, things weren't looking too good for the Mt. Vernon Moutaineers in their matchup with the Lamar Tigers Tuesday afternoon in Mt. Vernon.
But the Neers rallied to score four times in the bottom of the seventh and steal a 6-5 victory from the Tigers.
"The first few innings of the game we didn't play up to our potential. We didn't hit the ball as well as we expected to and we had a few defensive misques that kept Lamar in the ballgame," Mountaineer head coach Nick Swillum said. "But I'm really proud of the way our kids came back in the game. They never hung their heads and they got the job done, with their bats, at the end."
Both teams pushed runs across the plate in the first inning. The score stayed tied until the bottom of the fourth when the Neers scored again to take a 2-1 lead.
The lead looked like it would hold up for Mt. Vernon until, with two outs in the top of the seventh, the Tigers errupted for four runs on five hits, to jump out in front 5-2.
Sam Timmons got things started for the Tigers in the inning with a double off the right-center field wall. He was followed by Isaac Compton, Hunter Gepner, Todd Morrow and Jed Stahl- all with singles to account for the four Lamar runs.
But with one out, in the bottom of the seventh, the Mountaineers put together a rally of their own. A rally that would pave the way for them to pick up their fourteenth victory of the year versus just seven losses.
Chance Fenton doubled to get the Neers drive going in the bottom of the seventh and was followed by teammates Ty Boswell, Chris Marsh and Brett Campbell, each who added singles, to knot the game up at 5-5.
With the score tied up, and a runner on second, the Mountaineer's Jarrett Massie stepped up to the plate and delivered a shot to left field to drive in the winning run.
"With a runner on second I knew we could score if I just got a base hit," Massie said about his game winning plate appearance. "He threw me a fast ball. I had to square it up and hit it hard. I did, and it felt good to help us get the win after coming back from three runs down in the seventh."
Picking up the win for the Mountaineers was Payton Oehlschlager who came in to relieve starter Kaden Shoff in the seventh. Oehlschlager went 1.1 innings. Shoff was on the mound for 5.2 innings. The Neer hurlers gave up eight hits.
On the mound for the Tiger loss were Garrett Morey and Todd Morrow. Garrett pitched for 6.1 innings and gave up twelve hits and five runs, four earned. Morrow, in for .1 inning allowed two hits and one run.
Needless to say, the loss for the Tigers was a tough one.
"This was one of the best games we've played all year," Lamar catcher Jed Stahl said. "We just have to start coming out and finishing games."
Tiger coach Thad Lundine agreed.
"We played well but we've been in this situation before. We've lost three or four ballgames this year in the bottom of the seventh inning," he said. "We do need to learn to finish games. But I believe that if we keep working we're going to be able to do that and win a few more games this year."
The Tigers are currently 7-9 on the year and 1-6 in the Big 8 conference. Mt. Vernon, is 14-7 in 2016 and 5-3 in the Big 8.
Box Score
Lamar 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 5
Mt. Vernon 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 6
Leading Hitters:
Lamar: Tanner Phipps 1-3, Todd Morrow 1-3, Jed Stahl 2-4, Sam Timmons 1-3 (double), Isaac Compton 1-4, Hunter Gepner 2-1.
Mt. Vernon: Payton Oehlschlager 3-4, Chance Fenton 2-3 (double), Jarrett Massie 2-4 (double), Ty Boswell 1-4 (double), Garrett Hadlock 1-3, Grand Bushman 1-3, Brett Campbell 1-4, Chris Marsh 2-4 (double).
