East Carter uses 'small ball,' defense in split with Poplar Bluff, Northwest

East Carter's Ray Ochoa, right, dives back to second base as Poplar Bluff shortstop Jacob Baller tags him out on a steal attempt in the first inning Saturday, May 8, 2021, at Bobby Strenfel Field in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

DAR/Brian Rosener

POPLAR BLUFF — East Carter put the squeeze on early to jump ahead of Poplar Bluff and got an extra run out of it Saturday afternoon.

With the bases loaded and one out trailing by a run in the second inning, the Redbirds No. 8 hitter Levi Boyer got the bunt down with teammate Jacob Saffle racing home. Luke Roark scored from second on the play as Boyer beat the throw to first base.

“That’s what we got to do to win,” East Carter coach Ethan Boyer said. “We’ve got some good hitters but small ball is what we like to get runs going and make defense make plays.”

The Redbirds added three more runs in the inning and beat the host Mules 7-3 at Bobby Strenfel Stadium.

Poplar Bluff couldn’t overcome a four-run first inning in a 5-4 loss to Northwest in the second game of the day.

Northwest beat East Carter 4-2 in the opener.

The Redbirds (14-7) earned the top seed in the upcoming MSHSAA Class 2 District 2 playoffs.

“It’s good to see a good, quality team, just like East Carter,” Poplar Bluff coach Steven Edwards said. “That’s going to prepare us for what we need to do.”

Northwest (15-8) is the sixth seed in the MSHSAA Class 6 District 1 playoffs, a spot ahead of the Mules (9-16), who play at second-seeded Vianney. The Lions open at third-seeded Jackson.

Coach Edwards said his team’s fight and grit stood out against Northwest.

“We stayed in there and fought hard,” he said. “The plan at the plate was a lot better than (the East Carter) game.”

The Mules scored first against the Redbirds when Brady Robertson led off with a double and scored on a two-out RBI single by Parker Moore.

Preston Golden and Saffle opened the second for East Carter with singles. A catcher’s interference call loaded the bases with one out for Boyer’s bunt. Ray Ochoa had an RBI single and Eli Marvin drew a bases-loaded walk before Jason Carter’s sacrifice fly made it 5-1.

The Redbirds loaded the bases with one out in the fourth but scored just one run on Golden’s groundout.

Carter’s sacrifice fly in the sixth also drove in a run. He pitched the final two innings, striking out three and allowing one hit and one walk.

Ochoa was 3 for 4 at the plate and earned the win on the mound. He struck out seven, walked one and allowed three runs and eight hits over five innings.

“He has some good stuff,” Coach Edwards said.

Robertson and Kannon Carr each had two hits and scored for the Mules. Jacob Baller, Moore and Kayson King each drove in a run. Ty Rommel, Kolby Greenwall and Jake Valenzuela each had a hit.

Against the Lions, Carr drove in three runs and was 2 for 3 while Robertson doubled. Valenzuela and Baller each scored twice with a hit while Nick Edwards was 2 for 3.

Northwest scored four in the first off starter Tripp Belknap, who walked two and allowed four hits. Dylan Bratcher pitched five scoreless innings in relief, striking out three, walking two and allowing four hits.

The Mules scored twice in the seventh to get within a run and had two runners on when Northwest turned a ground ball into a game-ending double play.

Poplar Bluff stranded eight runners in the opener and seven against East Carter, five in scoring position.

East Carter first baseman Saffle made a leaping catch on a liner to turn a double play, taking away a run and ending the fourth while the fifth ended with a runner caught stealing second.

“We take pride in our defense,” Coach Boyer said. “I tell everybody that’s kind of our best asset. If we can throw strikes and let them put in play, most of the time we’ll make the plays behind them.”

Against the Lions, East Carter brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh after trailing by four runs. Charlie Miller and Jake Wilder each had two-out RBI hits and Logan Copeland and Golden opened the inning with singles.

Saffle struck out four, walked three, hit a batter and allowed one earned run on three hits over six innings.