The McCracken County Mustangs returned to Edward Jones Field for the 2024 season home opening weekend, hosting the Kennett (MO) Indians and O'Fallon (IL) Panthers. The Mustangs went 2-0 on the day with a 9-1 win over Kennett and a 7-1 victory over the Panthers.
"The game went well. Kennett was extremely aggressive in attacking anything in the zone, so my goal was to pound the zone with my fastball and then go after whiffs outside the zone with my off-speed stuff," Ross Aldridge said. "I knew the wind played a huge factor with how the ball would play in the air, so I trusted my teammates to make plays behind me and just went right after every hitter."
Aldridge collected the win for the Mustangs, working six innings while surrendering three hits and one earned run. The right-handed senior hurler walked one and struck out seven on 80 pitches. Junior Noah Godwin closed the contest, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one.
The Mustangs tallied seven hits in the contest. Miller Green, Scout Moffatt, Eli James, Weston Miller, Andrew Farmer, Griffin Cantrell, and Caden Kern collected a hit. James led the team with three RBI and a triple.
Despite the Indians striking first in the visitor's half of the first inning, the Mustangs plated four runs in the home half of the second inning. With one out, Cantrell drew a six-pitch walk. Kern followed up, reaching first base on an error in the outfield by the Indians. Kern's fly ball allowed Cantrell to advance to third base and Kern to second on the Kennett error. The Mustangs loaded the bases as Caleb Ehling was awarded first base on a five-pitch walk. Errors continued to plague Kennett in the outfield as Green hit a sacrifice fly and reached on an error, scoring Cantrell to tie the game 1-1.
The inning continued as Moffatt placed a sacrifice bunt toward the mound, allowing Kern to score and move Ehling and Green into scoring position. McCracken County moved to a 4-1 lead as James ripped a triple to center field, scoring Ehling and Green. However, Kennett escaped the inning without further damage as Jude Farley grounded out to short.
Aldridge continued to work on the bump, facing three batters in the top of the third inning. Despite a single by Miller in the home half of the inning, the Mustangs could not add to the scoreboard as Miller was caught stealing for the third out in the third.
Kern led off at the bottom of the fourth inning with a single but was picked off at first base before Ehling grounded out for the second out. Green kept the inning going with a single to center field. Moffatt moved Green to second on a hard ground ball single to third. Another error by Kennett allowed Green and Moffatt to score as James hit a fly ball to center field and reached on the error. By the end of the fourth, McCracken County led 6-1.
The final runs in the contest came for McCracken County in the bottom of the fifth inning. A pitch hit Kendrick Dunning with the bases loaded, and Cantrell scored as Dunning made his way to first base. The scoring continued for the Mustangs as Moffatt grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring Kern. The ninth run came next, with James drawing a five-pitch walk, allowing Casey Hawes to score.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 9, KENNETT (MO) 1
KENN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1-4-5
MCHS 0 4 0 2 3 0 X — 9-7-1
WP: R. Aldridge; LP: H. Gilmore
3B: MCHS — E. James
TB: KENN — A. Williams 1, J. Morrison 1, J. Poole 1, P. Branum 1; MCHS — E. James 3, A. Farmer 1, C. Kern 1, G. Cantrell 1, M. Green 1, S. Moffatt 1, W. Miller 1
HBP: KENN — C. Duncan; MCHS — K. Dunning
SF: MCHS — M. Green
SB: KENN — H. Gilmore, J. Morrison; MCHS — C. Ehling
CS: MCHS — W. Miller
E: KENN — C. Nevill 2, A. Williams, O. Williams, Z. Franklin; MCHS — J. Farley
RECORDS: KENNETT (2-4); MCCRACKEN (5-2)
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 7, O'FALLON (IL) 1
In the second game, the McCracken County Mustangs returned for the afternoon game against the O'Fallon Panthers. Unlike the last matchup from last season, the contest ended in seven innings rather than 11, with the Mustangs defeating the Panthers 7-1.
Caleb Ehling earned the win for the Mustangs, working six innings on the mound. The lefty senior allowed four hits, one earned run, and one walk while striking out eight. Miller Green closed the game, working one inning and striking out two.
The Mustang offense shined in the game, as McCracken County tallied 10 hits. Ehling and Scout Moffatt both went 2-for-3 with doubles in the win. Green, Eli James, Jude Farley, Weston Miller, Griffin Cantrell, and Caden Kern each collected a hit. Farley and Miller finished with two RBI apiece.
O'Fallon struck first and held a 1-0 lead over the Mustangs going into the fourth inning. Momentum shifted for the Mustangs with a half-inning double play completed by Green, James, and Moffatt. Then, McCracken County broke open the game and ended the Panthers' no-hit bid.
At the bottom of the fourth inning, Green led off with a single to short, beating the throw to give McCracken County its first hit in the game. The next batter, Moffatt, singled on a line drive, allowing Green to advance into scoring position at third base. James loaded the bases, being hit by a pitch, and then Farley drew a six-pitch walk to score Green and tie it at 1-1. Miller kept it going with a single to left field, scoring Moffatt and James. A squeeze bunt by Cantrell gave McCracken County a 4-1 lead with one out before Kern singled and Ehling doubled, making it 6-1.
McCracken County plated one more run in the fifth inning with an RBI single by Farley to score Moffatt. The score remained until the final three outs in the top of the seventh as Green worked the mound, inducing a ground out and striking out the next two batters to close the game.
OFAL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1-4-0
MCHS 0 0 0 6 1 0 X — 7-10-0
WP: C. Ehling; LP: M. Barker
2B: MCHS — C. Ehling, S. Moffatt
TB: OFAL — A. Perez 2, I. Maxedon 1, S. McCollum 1; C. Ehling 3, S. Moffatt 3, C. Kern 1, E. James 1, G. Cantrell 1, J. Farley 1, M. Green 1, W. Miller 1
HBP: OFAL — A. Cantu, I. Maxedon; MCHS — E. James
SB: OFAL — A. Cantu
RECORDS: O'FALLON (4-3); MCCRACKEN (6-2)