Striking early and often, the Joplin Outlaws completed a two-game sweep over the Des Moines Peak Prospects with a 14-4 run-rule victory on Saturday night in MINK League action at Joe Becker Stadium.
The Outlaws (2-1) concluded the season-opening homestand on a positive note, as the contest ended in walk-off fashion in the eighth inning.
“That was great,” Outlaws manager Gonzalo Gonzalez said after the win. “Our guys didn’t give up and continued to battle back. I personally feel like we should have put it on them a little sooner and put that game away sooner. But we kept putting together good at-bats and we finally got some decent pitching there at the end.”
Down 1-0 early, Joplin took the lead for good by plating three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
“It’s always huge to come back from a deficit, especially early on,” Gonzalez said. “It puts a lot of pressure on the defense and the offense. It’s good to see how these guys have been responding. It’s the third game in a row where we’ve won more innings than we’ve lost.”
The Outlaws took advantage of 15 free passes—11 walks and four hit batsmen.
“Anytime you get free bags it’s going to go your way,” said Gonzalez, who is an assistant coach at Pittsburg State. “We capitalized on those and didn’t leave a lot of guys on. We did a good job of scoring our runners.”
It was Joplin’s second straight win after Thursday’s setback.
“I think the chemistry is coming along really well,” Gonzalez said. “We’re giving up too many free bags. If we can continue to just stay on top of our opponents, we’re going to be alright.”
On Joplin Humane Society Night, the Peak Prospects pushed across a run in the first inning after Bryce Hall doubled to right and later scored from third on a wild pitch.
The Outlaws answered with three runs in the bottom half of the first after sending nine batters to the plate.
Caden Bressler and Liam Bailey both walked and Bressler charged home after an errant throw following Carson Carpenter’s grounder to the right side. Max Bruff’s two-run single up the middle made it 3-1.
The Peak Prospects got a run back in the second after singles from Rocky Lutz and Leighton Jenkins.
Joplin took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the second after Bressler walked and later came home on a throwing error.
The Outlaws added three runs in the third when Bailey, Carpenter and Bruff all drew two-out, bases-loaded walks to go up 7-2.
The Peak Prospects picked up an RBI single by designated hitter Rhett Zelinski in the fourth, trimming their deficit to four.
The Outlaws once again responded in the ensuing bottom half.
Carl Junction product Carson Johnson reached on an error and later scored on Korrey Siracusa’s sac fly. Next, Joplin High School product Kohl Cooper homered to right, giving the hosts a 9-3 cushion.
“That kid has got a nice swing,” Gonzalez said. “He really does. I think if he sticks to his approach, and if he is up in counts, he’s going to get good swings and we’re going to see a lot of that this summer.”
Des Moines scored once in the top of the sixth, but the Outlaws answered in the seventh.
Michael Long singled to left before an error in the field allowed Sam Fagan to score. After an out, Joe Ricchio scored from third on a wild pitch and Lucas McKain contributed a run-scoring ground out for a 12-4 cushion.
Joplin ended the game with two runs in the eighth. The first run scored on a wild pitch, with Fagan following with a game-ending RBI single.
Right-hander Cole White started for the Outlaws. The Northeastern State product went three innings and allowed two runs on five hits while striking out five.
George Fisher (Pittsburg State), Carl Junction grad Jared Wells (Missouri Western), Joplin product Josh Harryman (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M) and Cameron Hill (Jackson State) all pitched in relief for the Outlaws.
The game featured 20 total walks and six hit batsmen.
UP NEXT: The Outlaws return to action on Monday vs. St. Joseph. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Joe Becker Stadium.
