Hounds squeezed in opener
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville second baseman John Zimmerman flips the ball to senior first baseman Jacob Cacek for the putout during the Spoofhounds’ 10-9 season-opening loss to Benton at Hyde Park Monday afternoon.
The Maryville baseball team’s season-opener Monday afternoon at Hyde Park went about as well as head coach Matt Houchin could have hoped for two innings, but ended in the opposite fashion.
After the Spoofhounds built a 9-0 lead, Benton (3-2) chipped away before Dalton Lawrence laid down a perfectly placed suicide bunt in the bottom of the seventh to score Chaz Verduzco and allow the Cardinals to escape.
“It’s one of those games where somebody gets an early lead and the other team starts to chip away at it,” Houchin said. “Then you get nervous. Then when you start playing nervous, you’re not relaxed and loose anymore. We just have to make sure that we maintain that level of play no matter what happens, good or bad.”
Maryville came out swinging as sophomore shortstop Alex Bean singled to open the game. Sophomore catcher Trey Hoover followed suit by ripping a double down the left field line to drive in Bean. After senior center fielder Jarret Cronin walked, senior pitcher Mitchell Worthington drove in Hoover with an RBI single.
Junior right fielder Keston Oltman struck out, but on the throw down to first to record the out, Cronin broke from third to score and junior designated hitter Dustin Piper roped a double to left to score Worthington, and give him a 4-0 cushion to work with.
Worthington worked around a one out walk to get the Spoofhounds back in the batters box. And they were still hot.
Sophomore second baseman John Zimmerman drew a leadoff walk to bring the top of the order back to the dish, and much like the first time around Nos. 1-6 in the order delivered.
After a pair of passed balls moved Zimmerman to third, Bean scorched one through the hole to plate the first run of the inning. Hoover walked, forcing Benton starter Dom Hill from the game.
“We were aggressive,” Houchin said. “We got runners on, we had a hit-and-run one inning and played some guys across.”
After Noah Robertson came on in relief, Cronin singled in Bean. Worthington then singled to load the bases and Oltman drove in two with a double. Then Piper singled to left field to give the Spoofhounds a 9-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second.
“I think that’s one of the better starts we’ve had in the last few years, to be honest with you,” Houchin said.
Back-to-back walks to open the inning and a single by Alex Mehrens loaded the bases for the Cardinals. Worthington responded by striking out Devon Burton, but Elie Foster got the better of him out of the nine-hole, clearing the bases with a double to left-center.
After Maryville went down in order in the top of the third, Benton went back to work, getting an RBI single from Aaron Mapel to cut the Spoofhounds’ lead to 9-4.
In the top of the fourth, Oltman and Piper made outs before the Spoofhounds rallied to load the bases with two outs on three straight walks. However, they were left stranded and Mapel added a two-out, two-run single in the bottom half of the inning to help the Cardinals creep ever closer.
“As you go down toward the middle innings, we’re getting guys on,” Houchin said. “Problem is we start with a two-out rally. We get bases-loaded and can’t get that hit to get a couple more insurance runs. Then we got a little tight.”
In the bottom of the fifth, with Cronin taking the mound, Benton went down in order for the first time all night. The Spoofhounds followed suit in the top of the sixth, but with two outs in the home half the Cardinals went back to work.
Cronin eased a pair of groundouts out of Braxton Barbee and Dade Wheeler, but walked Lawrence, allowed a single to Mapel — who was 3-for-3 on the night with three RBI and a pair of runs — walked Eli Baig and walked in Lawrence before a double to right-center by Burton knotted things at nine.
Benton nearly took the lead, but senior first baseman’s relay throw to Hoover cut down Mehrens’ pinch-runner, CJ Reynolds, trying to score.
“Jarret had two outs … then they got a couple hits,” Houchin said. “Next thing you know, three runs are on the board. That’s baseball. We just have to get through those things.”
Bean drew a one-out walk in the Hounds’ final chance in regulation, but Hoover grounded into an inning-ending double-play to give Benton a chance to pull off the comeback.
Cronin induced a groundout to Zimmerman, but then plunked Verduzco and Barbee before walking Wheeler to load the bases.
Bean, Worthington and Piper all finished with two hits while Oltman and Piper each drove in a pair of runs.
Verduzco broke for home, with freshman third baseman Jake Woods in tow, but Lawrence’s bunt — his only hit of the afternoon — was perfectly placed and Cronin’s throw to the plate was too late.
Maryville (0-1) is back in action at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 2 when it returns to St. Joseph to take on Lafayette at Phil Welch Stadium.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior Mitchell Worthington started Monday’s season-opener for the Spoofhounds, working 2.1 innings and giving up four runs on four hits while striking out four and walking three in the Spoofhounds’ 10-9 loss to Benton.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville sophomore catcher Trey Hoover, who went 1-for-4 on the day, strokes an RBI double to open the scoring Monday afternoon against Benton. Despite jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first two innings, Benton won 10-9 on a walkoff in the bottom of the seventh.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior Mitchell Worthington bloops a hit to short left-center field in the second inning of the Spoofhounds’ 10-9 loss to Benton Monday afternoon at Hyde Park. Worthington went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored in defeat.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville junior right fielder Keston Oltman drives a pitch for a two-run double, his lone hit of the game, in the first inning of the Spoofhounds’ 10-9 loss Monday afternoon to Benton at Hyde Park in St. Joseph.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior Jarret Cronin came on in relief in the fifth inning Monday afternoon, and was charged with the loss as Benton pulled off a suicide squeeze in the bottom of the seventh to walkoff with a 10-9 win. Cronin was 1-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored and allowed four runs on three hits and four walks over 2.1 innings.
