With the score tied at 1-1, runners on first and second, two outs and shortstop Trey Cooper stepping up to the plate, the West Plains Zizzers needed a hit.
They got it.
Cooper drilled a pitch to left field to drive in the Zizzers second and deciding run as West Plains went on to defeat the Parkview Vikings 2-1.
"I got a curve but I was looking for a fastball," Cooper said. "I just wanted to get the barrel of the bat on the ball and put it in play. Luckily I was able to do it. The ball found a hole on the left side allowing us to score what proved to be the winning run."
Cooper's heroics lifted the Zizzers record to 9-5 on the season while the Vikings slipped to 3-14.
"We've had a lot of these type of games this year," Zizzer head coach Chris Quarti said. "We can't seem to just jump ahead and stay up throughout the game. They always seem to come right down to the wire like this one today. But this is a big win for our kids and we'll take it."
The Zizzers grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. With one out West Plains' Tyler Wood doubled to right field. Catcher Jake Quarti followed with a single to left to drive Wood in for the games first run.
The score wouldn't change, as Zizzer hurler Blaine Dunbar and Viking pitcher Malachi Gentry locked horns in what turned out to be a classic prep pitching duel.
The Vikes broke loose in the bottom of the fifth inning to push a run across the plate and knot the game up at 1-1. Parkview's Bowin Davisson's line drive to left field put him safely on first base. He then stole second. With two outs Nick Young singled to center to drive in Davisson.
Good pitching and defensive stops kept the game at 1-1 until the top of the seventh when the Zizzers managed to push across the game deciding second run.
With one out in the inning West Plains' hurler Dunbar connected on a Gentry pitch for a single. After reaching first base Dunbar sat down as junior Austin Jones went in as a pinch runner. Jones moved to second on a passed ball and then watched as teammate Tyler Wood drew a catcher interference call and was subsequently awarded first base. Both Jones and Wood then advanced to second and thrid via another passed ball.
Cooper did the rest sending a Gentry pitch to left field with two outs to drive in Jones and help the Zizzers collect the 2-1 victory.
Dunbar, on the hill for the win, allowed only one run on four hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts. He now sits at 2-3 on the year and 1-2 in conference play.
"I just wanted to throw strikes today, to get ahead of the hitters," the Zizzer pitcher said. "I did that early in the game but fell behind on my count some in the later innings. I got a lot of help though from our defense, they did a great job of backing me up when I ran into trouble."
In taking the loss Gentry gave up two runs on eleven hits. He had no walks and struckout one.
"Malachi pitched well for us today," said Viking head coach John Thompson. "He kept them off balance and with some key defensive plays by his teammates kept us in the game."
"We've dropped three of our last four games in games that were very similar to today's," Thompson said. "We usually stay close through the first five or six innings but just can't seem to get the big hit when we need it. But the kids played hard and did a lot of good things today, the kind of things we can build on."
Box Score
West Plains 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Parkview 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Leading hitters
West Plains: Trey Cooper 3-4, Tyler Wood 2-3 (double), Jake Quarti 2-4, Andrew Wheeler 1-2, Jacob Hess 1-3, Justin Nichols 1-3, Blaine Dunbar 1-4
Parkview: Bowin Davisson 2-3, Nick Young 1-2, Jordan Rude 1-3
