July 5, 2021
By Brennan Mense
JOPLIN, MO—The Joplin Outlaws hit two homers and rallied to tie the game from two runs down in the seventh, but the Nevada Griffons came away with a 4-3 victory in ten innings on Monday night at Joe Becker Stadium.
Nevada (11-15) continued to vex the Outlaws, defeating them for the third time in as many MINK League contests. Joplin (10-10) fell back to .500, as well as into a tie for first place in the MINK South with Jefferson City.
In a season full of slow starts, the Outlaws actually jumped out to an early lead in this game. Cale McAllister worked around a leadoff single to throw a scoreless first, then watched Logan Cline hit a moonshot over the left field wall for a two-out solo homer, giving Joplin a 1-0 lead.
The lead was still 1-0 when McAllister backed himself into a mess in the third. Nevada loaded the bases with no outs as McAllister hit two batters, sandwiched around a walk.
However, the lefty wiggled his way out as he knocked down a hard smash back to the mound and threw to the plate for an out. Jesse Fonteboa then hit a ground ball to short that Cline gobbled up, beginning a 4-6-3 double play to escape the bases-loaded jam with no runs allowed.
McAllister's luck ran out in the next inning, though. Following a strikeout to begin the inning, the Griffons put five straight runners on base. An dropped fly ball by Drake Angeron in center field compounded matters. At the end of it all, three runs had scored (one unearned) and Nevada led 3-1.
Gavin Heltemes entered the game in the fifth inning and held the fort for the Outlaws. Heltemes dealt with baserunners in all three of is innings, but managed to induce a double play in the fifth and strand runners in the next two frames.
Meanwhile, Nevada starter Richard Kiel stifled Joplin's bats throughout most of his outing. After allowing two hits in the first, he held the Outlaws hitless over the next five frames.
That string ended in the seventh, though, as the Outlaws rallied to tie the game. Jared Toler launched Kiel's second pitch of the inning over the terrace in right-center for his first home run of the year to cut the deficit in half.
Joplin wasn't done though, as Nevada elected to leave Kiel in the game for the remainder of the inning. The decision backfired as Cam Pfafman followed the homer with a double to left, then went to third on a groundout. Jeb Jenkins followed with a looper into shallow center field, but Fonteboa lost it in the twilight and the ball fell untouched, scoring Pfafman to tie the game.
With a brand new ballgame heading to the eighth inning, both teams turned to their top relief arms. Joplin brought in Justin Schrader, who retired six straight with four strikeouts over the final two regulation innings. Nevada countered with Sebastian Kirchner, who also went six-up, six-down to send the game to extras.
In the tenth, though, Schrader cracked first. After a strikeout to start the frame, Fonteboa walked, and two straight infield singles loaded the bases. Matt Leong followed with a sacrifice fly to right field that brought home Fonteboa to put the Griffons in front.
Nevada then moved Cameron Saso from third base to the mound, and he polished off the Outlaws in order in the bottom of the tenth, securing the 4-3 win for the Griffons.
McAllister worked 4.0 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Heltemes tossed 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and two walks with one strikeout. Schrader (0-1) also pitched 3.0 innings, allowing a run on two hits and a walk with six strikeouts.
Joplin returns back to Joe Becker Stadium tonight for against Jefferson City. 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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