June 29, 2021
By Brennan Mense
OZARK, MO—For the third consecutive game, the Joplin Outlaws entered the eighth inning with a lead and for the third consecutive night, Joplin failed to reach the finish line without losing it. However, Drake Angeron saved the day with a three-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Outlaws to a 10-9 victory over the Route 66 Stars at US Baseball Park in Ozark, Missouri.
On a night marred by 18 walks and five hit batters between the two teams, the Stars (4-9-1) and Outlaws (10-8) swapped the lead back and forth six times, but the Outlaws took advantage of enough free passes to snap a two-game skid.
Route 66 scored a run in the first inning off Joplin's Mayasuki Maruhashi, who was making his first start of the season. However, the Outlaws recovered with single tallies in the second and third off Stars starter Tyler Graham to take a 2-1 lead.
The lead wouldn't even make it out of the third as Maruhashi walked back-to-back batters with one out, both of whom scored when Cade Holmes ripped an RBI triple to right-center to give the Stars a 3-2 lead.
The Stars tacked on to the lead against Maruhashi in the fourth, as the first three batters of the inning reached on a walk and two singles, with two of those coming around to score, pushing the lead to 5-2.
In the fifth, though, the Outlaws made their move. Graham walked the bases loaded with one out, then Angeron brought home a run on a groundout. From there, Joplin's two-out hitting kicked into gear, as Ethan Ellis trimmed the deficit to one with an RBI single and Calen Protaskey was plunked to re-load the bases. Jared Toler then sliced a three-run double down the left-field line, his third hit of the night, to put the Outlaws back in front, 7-5.
The score held for the next three innings as Maruhashi gave way to Zach Hill in the fifth, who twirled two scoreless innings, followed by Jack O'Brien, who tossed a 1-2-3 seventh. That set the table for Ward Richardson, who was tasked with protecting a two-run lead in the eighth.
The lead did not hold. After two walks to begin the inning, Richardson settled down to strike out a batter, but a wild pitch let a run in shortly after. After a groundout, another wild pitch moved the tying run to third, which then scored as Richardson balked, tying the game.
With the bases clear with two outs, Richardson proceeded to walk two additional batters. Cade Holmes then put a bow on a four-RBI day with his second two-run triple of the night, this time a shot down the right-field line. Holmes attemped to circle the bases on the play, but a strong relay from Lawson Faria prevented that. The damage was done, though, and Joplin went into the ninth trailing 9-7.
Down to their last three outs, the Outlaws mounted one more offensive against Chase Wilson, working his third inning of relief. A walk and a hit batter put the tying run on base with nobody out for Angeron, who attempted to bunt both runners into scoring position.
However, Angeron missed one bunt and bunted another foul, leaving him down 0-2. On the next pitch, though, Angeron turned on a fastball and lined it over the right-field wall for a three-run homer that put the Outlaws up 10-9.
Brett Weimers entered the game in the bottom of the ninth and allowed a two out double, but he induced a fly ball to Angeron to end the game.
Angeron finished with two runs, the homer, and a season-high four RBI. Toler had a season-high three hits to along with four RBI of his own.
Maruhashi worked 4.0 innings, allowing five runs on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Hill threw 2.0 scoreless frames, allowing a hit, a walk, and striking out four. O'Brien fanned one in a perfect inning of work. Ward Richardson (1-0) coughed up four runs on four walks, three wild pitches, and one hit over one inning, but earned his first win thanks to the ninth-inning rally. Weimers allowed a hit in one scoreless inning to earn his first save.
Joplin has the day off Wednesday before they kick off a stretch of six of their next seven at home with a Thursday night contest against the Sedalia Bombers. First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. and the broadcast will be available on UclickTV on pay-per-view, as well as with all Joplin Outlaws and MINK League season passes.
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