The McCracken County Mustangs returned to Edward Jones Field for the first time since their trip to South Carolina for spring break. Inclement weather and district game schedule changes halted action this week. Despite the potential for more rain, the Mustangs hosted Graves County on Thursday night, with senior Ross Aldridge on the bump in the 4-2 victory over the Eagles.
“I knew it was going to be a high-energy game, and [Graves County] started the year very well, but I have all the confidence in my team,” Aldridge said. “My goal was to go out there and pound the zone with three pitches and try to get quick and early outs so that I could go as deep into the game as possible. I knew they would be aggressive and swing the bats—they always do a pretty good job doing that. It was a good night.”
Aldridge, who earned the nod against Graves County, pitched six innings, surrendering just one hit on 93 pitches. The senior righty fanned 13 of 21 batters, allowing two runs (earned) and two walks. Aldridge earned the win before fellow senior Seth Harris appeared in relief to snag the save.
Graves County’s Hayden Alexander took the loss for the Eagles. The senior pitched six innings, throwing 100 pitches while facing 27 batters. Alexander allowed six hits, two walks, and four runs (earned) while striking out eight.
The Eagles struck first, with Alexander scoring on a triple by Drake Defreitas, which would be the lone hit for Graves County. The Eagles added one more run in the inning as Coby Mullins grounded out to third baseman Miller Green, allowing Defreitas to make it 2-0. However, Aldridge collected his second strikeout in the inning to close the visiting half of the first.
The score remained 2-0 with a Graves County lead in the second inning. However, the Eagle bats remained quiet as Aldridge fanned all three batters in the top of the inning. McCracken County answered in the bottom half with a lead-off single for Eli James. With one out, Weston Miller singled on a line drive, allowing James to advance to third base before Casey Hawes placed a sacrifice bunt down, allowing James to squeeze in and plate the first Mustang run.
McCracken County tied it at 2-2 on the next play as Griffin Cantrell singled on a pop fly, allowing Miller to score and Cantrell to advance to third base on an error by the Eagles. The threat ended as Caden Kern popped out to third base to end the second inning.
Graves County’s Cole Katzman drew an eight-pitch walk before getting caught on his attempt to steal second base with the throw from catcher Jude Farley. Aldridge continued to work, striking out the next two batters. Like Aldridge, Alexander continued to work on the bump, seeing three Mustang batters in the bottom of the third.
The Mustangs plated one run in the bottom of the fourth, as James led off with a six-pitch walk. Farley singled to left field, allowing James to advance into scoring position. Miller grounded into a fielder’s choice, allowing James to move to third and courtesy runner Braden Casebier to second base. Hawes bunted into a fielder’s choice, scoring James to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
The Eagles had a baserunner in the top of the fifth in the form of Cole Woodward but could not advance him into scoring position as Aldridge collected his third strikeout in the inning to end the threat. McCracken County added an insurance run at the bottom of the fifth as Green knocked a standup double to the right field. The next batter, Scout Moffatt, bunted back to the pitcher, allowing Green to move to third. James ripped a single to right field, allowing Green to score and make it 4-2.
Aldridge collected strikeout No. 13 in the top of the sixth inning, inducing a flyout and lineout to finish his day on the mound. Alexander faced three batters in the bottom of the sixth, collecting his eighth strikeout.
James went 2-for-2 with two runs and one RBI for the Mustangs. Green, Farley, Miller, and Cantrell each collected one hit. Hawes led the team with runs batted in, bringing home two.
Defreitas went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Mullins collected one RBI in the loss for Graves County
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 4, GRAVES COUNTY 2
GCHS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 2-1-1
MCHS 0 2 0 1 1 0 X — 4-6-0
WP: R. Aldridge; LP: H. Alexander; S: S. Harris
2B: MCHS — M. Green
3B: GCHS — D. Defreitas
TB: GCHS — D. Defreitas 3; MCHS — E. James 2, M. Green 2, G. Cantrell 1, J. Farley 1, W. Miller 1
HBP: GCHS — H. Alexander
SB: MCHS — E. James
CS: GCHS — C. Katzman
E: GCHS — H. Alexander
RECORDS: McCracken County (11-3); Graves County (13-3)