CARTHAGE, Mo. — Kirk Chandler pitched a complete game on the bump and Alex Curry finished a triple shy of the cycle as Joplin defeated Carthage 10-2 in the final non-conference game of a three-team doubleheader with Smithville on Saturday at Carl Lewton Stadium.
The Eagles (14-9) broke a scoreless tie with a five-run third inning to take command. The Tigers (7-14) cut into the lead with two runs scoring in the bottom of the third, but Joplin continued to play add-on with two more insurance runs scoring in the fourth before putting the game away with a three-run seventh frame.
“It’s a big win for us after the way we played this morning,” Joplin coach Kyle Wolf said. “It didn’t feel like we completed real hard, and (Smithville) is good. … There is a fine line between us having fun and playing the game the right way. … It’s really fun when you are playing hard and playing the right way. That’s what we’ve got to find, that balance.”
Earlier in the day, Joplin fell to Smithville 9-3, while the Tigers also lost to the Warriors 6-0.
“We didn’t play well,” Carthage coach Luke Bordewick said. “We didn’t play well, end of story. Offensively, we struggled to have competitive at-bats. We wanted to not strike out and hit the ball hard on the ground and we failed to do that today.”
ON THE MOUND
Chandler pitched a gem for the Eagles to earn the win, limiting Carthage to two runs over seven complete innings. He allowed six hits, walked two and struck out six.
“We needed that not only today but we need that going forward,” Wolf said. “Kirk is a good pitcher and has been a good starting pitcher for us over the years. We need him to be confident in what he is capable of doing as we move forward not only with the remainder of the regular season but as we move into the postseason.”
Wil McCombs took the loss after allowing five runs, three earned, on seven hits, four walks and two strikeouts. Max Templeman allowed two runs, one earned, while Clay Kinder allowed three runs in relief.
BIG DAY AT THE DISH
Curry led the way for the Eagles, finishing with a 4-for-5 game at the plate with a team-high three RBI and two runs scored. Curry, a predominantly opposite-field hitter, pulled a ball down the third-base line for a single in the second inning before launching a solo home run over the wall in left to lead off the fourth. Curry roped a ball off the wall in left-center field for a double in the fifth and added a two-run single up the middle in the seventh.
“I don’t know where that came from,” Wolf said with a laugh when asked about Curry’s pull tendency in the win over Carthage. “But the thing is, he pulled the ball correctly. He pulled the ball that needed to be pulled and drove it. He had a good approach and good process. … The home run was impressive but the ball that he hit 20 feet high off the blue wall out there was hit really, really well.”
IN THE BOX
With a bit of a lineup change against the Tigers, Carson Wampler had a hit and scored a run in the leadoff spot, while Justin McReynolds drove in two and scored one to go along with two hits in the two hole. Bodee Carlson had two hits while scoring once and driving in one. David Fiscus, Fielding Campbell and Kyler Stokes all recorded a hit while driving in one.
Sylas Browning led Carthage with two hits, while Kaden Kralicek doubled in the third to drive in the Tigers’ only two runs. McCombs and Caden Kabance each had hits and scored a run.
GAME ACTION
After stranding runners on second and third with no outs in the second inning, the Eagles redeemed themselves in the third. Kohl Cooper walked to lead off the inning before moving to third on Curry’s single down the line, with the throw to third allowing Curry to take second on the play. Fiscus followed with a single to center to score Cooper. Curry came in to score on a wild pitch in the next at-bat. Later in the inning, Campbell beat out a push bunt to first for an RBI single. McReynolds capped the inning with a two-out, two-run infield hit in a popup that found grass in between the mound and second base to make the score 5-0.
“There was one ball out of all of those that was hit really well,” Wolf said. “After that, it was just competitive at-bats. … At the end of the inning, we look up and we have a five spot. That is what we have to understand. We don’t have to do more than the situation asks for, we just have to do enough.”
Kralicek’s two-run double to center with one out in the bottom of the third cut the lead to 5-2.
Joplin answered right back with Curry’s leadoff homer to straight away left in the fourth before Stokes singled on the infield for an RBI later in the inning.
The first five batters reached base to start the seventh for Joplin. Wampler led off with a single before McReynolds walked and Cooper was hit by a pitch. Curry followed with a two-run single up the middle. Carlson wrapped the scoring with a sac fly to center to score Cooper.
UP NEXT
Joplin hosts Carl Junction on Tuesday.
Carthage is at Branson on Tuesday.
SMITHVILLE 9, JOPLIN 3
Smithville pushed a 2-0 lead to 8-1 by the end of the fourth in a win over Joplin to open the Eagles’ Saturday at Carl Lewton Stadium.
The Warriors scored twice in the first and four times in the third to build a 6-0 lead. Smithville scored twice more in the top of the fourth, with Joplin getting on the board with a single tally in the bottom half. Joplin scored twice more in the sixth but would get no closer.
Jacob Wheeler earned the win after allowing one run on two hits, four walks and five strikeouts in four innings.
Kohl Cooper took the loss after allowing eight runs, six earned, on five hits, five walks and five strikeouts in three innings. Tyler Duley allowed one run on two hits and two strikeouts in four relief innings.
Kyle Ruff led Smithville with two hits, an RBI and two runs scored at the plate. Cannon Kobylski doubled and drove in one, while Ryker Edwards tripled and scored twice.
Justin McReynolds and Ethan Guilford, who doubled, had two hits apiece to lead Joplin at the plate. McReynolds also scored a run.
SMITHVILLE 6, CARTHAGE 0
*Story will updated when information becomes available
