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Big third inning lifts Charleston Fighting Squirrels past Spartans 11-1
CHARLESTON, Mo. —A six-run third inning and a pitching gem from Sikeston’s Will Pratt was all that the Charleston Fighting Squirrels needed to defeat the SEMO Spartans 11-1 Thursday night at Hillhouse Park.
Early on, it looked like the game would get out of hand for the Fighting Squirrels, as the Spartans scored their lone run of the game without recording a hit.
Pratt struggled to find his command early, as he hit the leadoff man Jack Scruggs. Then after striking out Haden Hillis, the catcher — Kade Sullivan — tried to pick off the runner at first base, but threw the ball into right field, allowing Scruggs to advance to third base.
Scruggs wound up scoring on a wild pitch from Pratt. Pratt had four wild pitches in the first inning.
After that inning, though, Pratt settled in very nicely, as he retired the next 12 Spartans.
“Will, he threw 28 pitches in the first inning, and he struggled,” Charleston head coach Michael Minner said. “We’re trying to get these guys back in a rhythm, you know, once he settled in, he started throwing two pitches for a strike and throwing it where he wanted to, and he got in a groove, and threw the ball really well.”
Run support was also significant for Pratt, as Charleston (7-2) led off the third inning with Drew Korando drawing a hit by pitch.
After two quick outs though and one man on second — after Korando stole the base— it looked like the Fighting Squirrels would go away quietly, but Ronin Rice had other ideas. Rice drove in the game-tying run with a single, scoring Korando from second and making it 1-1.
After that, the runs started piling on, and the bats began to heat up — all with two outs.
A pair of singles from Turner Fritts and Will Pratt and a walk from Dallon Stutts — which scored Rice to give Charleston the lead — allowed Bobby Wright to step to the plate, where he broke the game wide-open.
Wright ripped a ball over the head of SEMO’s centerfielder, which allowed three runs to cross the plate and Wright to advance to third safely. The three-run RBI triple made the game 5-1 Charleston.
The Fighting Squirrels were not done there though, as Kasten Campbell reached on an error, allowing Wright to score the sixth run of the inning.
“A lot of times, with two strikes, we kind of zone-in, you know, sometimes we don’t do a real good job until two outs, and we hope that changes,” Minner said. “We hit some balls hard and took advantage of a few miscues, but we like to put some pressure on the defense, and I thought we did a good job.
“We’ve played a lot of baseball. Four doubleheaders in four days and then had a day off and we’re back, so it’s good to be back at the park and, you know, we hope we played pretty well this game. We’re just trying to find our nine for the end of the year and so every day is one of those tryouts and today’s no different. We’re trying to find guys that run the bases right, that are trying to get two out of the box and doing all the little things, so that’s important.”
For the Spartans, the game looked to be well in their hands after it looked like Pratt was bound to struggle. That did not turn out to be the case, as Pratt retired five of his 12 consecutive outs by strikeout. This including striking out the top of the order in the third inning.
Overall, head coach Caleb Miller said it was difficult to get into a groove late.
“We came out in the first, got a couple runners on and had one of those tough baseball moments, where six more inches it’s 3-0, it’s a whole different ballgame,” Miller said. “Overall, the kids played well. Charleston, they’re a good team, we just struggled a little bit, their pitcher got in a groove, and we failed to score some runs.”
Thursday marked Opening Night for the Fighting Squirrels at Hillhouse Park, an event which brings Minner a ton of joy.
“We try to get a bunch of people to the park, and you know, these kids, this is paradise to me,” Minner said. “This is my summer vacation, and we spend a lot of time here, and our young kids enjoy being on the field and getting their name called over the intercom. That’s neat for them, and ultimately, we try to get people here. It’s a night where we set up our merchandise, and this is the mecca.
“We want the young kids to want to play on this team. Ultimately, anytime we get a chance to show off our facility — and one of my buddies had a drone here, and we got some good pictures tonight — and so it’s the best facility around. Like I’ve said before, it’s our little summer collegiate league, and we’re sure proud of everything that here’s in Charleston.”
| SEMO | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Charleston | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | — | 11 | 14 | 2 |
WP — Will Pratt. LP — Trevor McDonald. 2B — Cole Nichols (C), Will Pratt (C), Kasten Campbell (C). 3B — Bobby Wright (C). Multiple hitters: Charleston — Cole Nichols 2-4, Ronin Rice 2-3, Will Pratt 4-4, Drew Korando 2-2.