Joplin found itself trailing four different times only for the Eagles to rally back in each instance before a six-run sixth inning gave the Eagles their first lead on the way to a 10-8 win over Class 5 No. 2 Glendale on Monday at the JHS Athletic Complex.
The Falcons (20-6) scored two runs in the first inning, a run in the third and a run in the fourth only to see the Eagles (13-13) match the output in the bottom half of the innings to keep the game tied 4-4. Glendale scored two runs in the top of the sixth to once again take a lead before Joplin erupted for six runs in the last of the sixth to take the lead for good.
“I thought we did a good job of staying in it and competing,” Joplin coach Kyle Wolf said. “They scored two early, we came back with two. They added one, we scored one and so on. It felt like throughout the course of the game that we were going to string some hits together at some point. We had some opportunities early and had to manufacture some runs. In the sixth inning, we were able to string some hits together with some timely walks to put up a crooked number for a big inning. That was a good win against a really well-coached and good baseball team.”
Heading into the sixth inning, Joplin had one hit. The sixth-run inning was fueled by seven hits—two doubles and four singles.
SENIOR NIGHT
Before the game, Joplin honored six seniors in Senior Night ceremonies—Bodee Carlson, Isaac Meadows, Tyler Schumann, Ethan Guilford, Kyler Stokes and Joe Jasper.
“When you are somewhere long enough, you start working through these classes,” Wolf said. “These guys were in 8th grade when I came here and they are just a quality group of young men who have contributed greatly to our program. We have guys who are going into nursing, guys going into the military and guys getting degrees that I am not near smart enough to get. They are just a good, resilient group of guys who have had to fight through some things in their career, like COVID, and have found ways to contribute in a positive way to our program. I am proud of those guys. I love them and wish them the best.”
ON THE MOUND
Guilford started and took a no-decision after allowing six runs, four earned, on 10 hits, three walks and six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Brady Mails earned the win in relief after allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits, one walk and two strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings. Justin McReynolds earned the save after striking out the final batter in the seventh.
GAME ACTION
Glendale took the early momentum after pushing across a pair or runs in the top of the first inning. After back to back singles with two strikes, Mark Ross drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly to left field. Sebastian Norman followed with an RBI double to right field for a 2-0 lead.
Joplin answered back quickly with two runs coming home in the bottom of the first to tie the game. The Eagles didn’t register a hit, but drew four walks and a hit-by-pitch. Layten Copher and Jasper each drew free passes with the bases loaded to force in the runs.
The Falcons regained the lead in the top of the third inning when Norman led off with a double to left field before coming around to score on a single through the right side by Carter Lewis for a 3-2 advantage.
The Eagles again rallied back right away, and again they did it without recording a hit. Stokes walked to lead off the inning before stealing second and moving to third on a groundout. McReynolds tied the game up with an RBI groundout that plated Stokes to tie the game at 3-3.
“This type of year, you have to be able to score in multiple ways,” Wolf said of his team’s ability to manufacture runs early. “They may mean get them on and get them over with a bunt, sacrifice fly or whatever it may be to tack on some runs and then hope to catch fire at some point and put up a crooked number.”
Glendale once again took the lead in the top of the fifth when Lewis singled through the right side to score Norman, who doubled to center field to lead off the inning, for a 4-3 advantage.
The Eagles got in the hit column in the bottom of the fifth when Byler Reither singled up the middle with one out. Later in the inning with the bases loaded and two outs in a 3-2 count, Copher swung through a low breaking ball that found its way to the backstop to allow Reither to score with Copher reaching first safely to tie the game at 4-4.
The Falcons took the lead once more in the top of the sixth. The first two batters reached on Joplin errors before Ross lined out to center field for a sac fly RBI and a 5-4 lead. Lewis picked up another RBI two batters later with a sac fly to right field to make the score 6-4.
Joplin’s bats woke up in the sixth inning with six runs touching the plate. The first run came home on a shallow single to center field by Stokes with the bases loaded to cut the lead to 6-5. Guilford followed with a three-run double down the right-field line to give the Eagles its first lead, 8-6. McReynolds followed with a single to left field to plate a run. Jackson Queen wrapped the scoring with an RBI double to right to push the lead to 10-6.
“It is a confidence thing,” Wolf said. “When they see the guy in front of them get a barrel on a ball, they know they can do the same thing. But, we have talked about it all year long—not putting too much pressure on ourselves and just having a competitive at-bat to try and find a way to first base. I think we did a good job of that in that inning.”
Glendale added two runs in the top of the seventh before the Eagles snuffed out the rally attempt.
IN THE BOX
Reither had two hits and scored three runs, while Stokes had a hit, scored three runs and drove in one. Guilford doubled, scored a run and drove in three.
ON DECK
Joplin hits the road for a matchup against Willard in the final Central Ozark Conference matchup of the season on Tuesday. The Eagles then are back at home for a matchup against Lamar on Wednesday.
After the conclusion of the regular season, Joplin will host the Class 6 District 6 tournament as the fifth seed. The Eagles take on fourth-seeded Republic at 1:30 p.m. on May 16 at the JHS Athletic Complex.
“This (type of win) is huge,” Wolf said about the regular season winding down ahead of postseason play. “Especially when you feel like you’ve let a few of these types of wins slip away throughout the year. I think it’s a huge win to come out and play well against a really good baseball team that is well-coached. It should be a confidence builder that should show our guys that if we do things the right way, we can be a really good baseball team.”
