Brady Takes No-Hitter Into 7th, Mustangs Win 3-1

by Marshall Cherrington

With the team batting average sitting around .260 for the year, Jacob Brady knew he had to be on his A-game to secure a win for the Mustangs. In a must win game against the Woodinville Falcons, the Mustangs pulled out the bats and gave Brady some run support early.

In the first inning after two outs had already been recorded, Kyle Francis started a rally and singled to left field. Brent Firth then walked and Lucas Eliason stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second with a chance to take the lead. Eliason then blooped a single to center which scored Francis. The Mustangs knew they needed just a few runs for Brady to work with as his pitching on the mound has been solid all year.

In the fourth innning, the Mustangs gave Brady even more run support as Eliason led off the inning with a double which was followed by a Justin Moon single, scoring Eliason. Moon was moved to third after a bunt and a groundout. Steckler was then hit by a pitch, so the Mustangs had runners on first and third with two outs. In a classic play in baseball, Steckler stole second while Moon attempted to steal home. The catcher threw the ball down to second and Moon was safe at home. This gave the Mustangs a 3-0 lead and provided Brady with all of the runs he would need to secure the victory.

Throughout the game, Brady's fastball sat around the mid-80s and the Falcons could not touch it.

"Even though I fell behind in the count consistently against their hitters, I was able to battle back in the count and record the outs I needed to," Brady said. "I didn't have great control of my changeup and curveball tonight, but I threw strikes when i really needed too. I was confident with my defense behind me and this really let me attack the hitters in whatever way I wanted."

Brady carried a no-hitter into the seventh innning and with one out in the inning, he thought he was going to finish it off. However, the third hitter in the Falcon's lineup, Lee Wunderlich, stepped up to the plate and blasted a home run to right-center field.

"I was really disappointed that i gave up the no-hitter, but at the same time we were still winning and I had to settle down and record the next two outs," Brady said.

Daniel Bies came into the game to record the last out, but as Brady left the field, he knew he had pitched well throughout the game and was very pleased with his performance.

This win moves the Mustangs to 6-11 on the season and two games out of first place with two games left to play in the regular season. If the Mustangs win one of those two games, they aren't guaranteed a playoff spot, but will most likely secure one. However, if the Mustangs win both games, they will assure themselves of a playoff spot.

Putting the ball in play and playing solid defense has been a problem all year for the Mustangs. In a game where the team performed exceptionally in both of those areas, the Mustangs will look to build off their new-found momentum and make a deep run into the playoffs.

Mustangs Baseball Overcomes Slow Start, Wins 3-2

by Marshall Cherrington

Having not won on opening day for three straight years, Dan Pudwill and his Mustangs were desperately searching for that elusive win.

In front of a nice home crowd, the Mustangs (1-0) were able to pull through in the end and capture a victory against the Juanita Rebels (0-1), by a score of 3-2. However, not all was pretty throughout the game for either team.

It was expected that there would be some rustiness from both sides, but maybe not as much that was displayed on Tuesday night. Easy ground-balls back to the pitcher were air-mailed over the first baseman's head. Easy double play opportunities were squandered when fielders tried to put to much "meat" on their throws. Even some ground-balls went through players' legs. Childish mistakes were made by some experienced high school players.

Although the fielding was forgettable, Daniel Bies started off the game on the mound and had a nice outing overall. Even with two errors in the field, Bies had a short-term memory and focused on the task at hand. Bies was smooth and steady on the mound, displaying his exceptional pitching ability. Even though he wasn't getting all of the calls at the plate that he should have, he shook it off and gave up only two runs in four innings of work. He escaped from jams numerous times as he struck a batter out with the bases loaded in the top of the third inning and left runners on base to escape from the second inning.

Bies was provided with some run support early in the game as Bryce Steckler, Lucas Eliason and Brent Firth all strung together hits to open up the scoring for the Mustangs in the bottom of the first. This combo gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead and would prove to be worthy all game. In the bottom of the third, Steckler lead off with a double and everyone could see it coming once again. Eliason then came to the plate and despite grounding a ball to the left side of the infield, Steckler took a risk and moved on to third base. Next up was Firth and he continued his hot-hitting as he screamed a pitch back up the middle for an RBI single to tie the game up at 2-2. 

In relief of Bies, Chandler Homer came in and pitched extremely well. He looked like he was in a groove all night on the mound and recorded five strikeouts in three innings pitched. Even though he didn't get much action throughout the game, Jacob Brady was impressed with Homer's pitching.

"He has great movement on all of his pitches and that's what makes him so hard to hit," said Brady. "Whether it be a curveball or a fastball, you always know that the pitch isn't going to end up in the same place that it started."

Homer didn't let up a run in his three innings of work and recorded the win. However, the win was only possible with the help of his teammate, Kyle Francis. Francis is known for his power at the plate and displayed it well in the bottom of the fifth inning. As he stepped up to the plate to start off the fifth for the Mustangs, Francis knew that the team needed to produce some runs in able to capture the victory. On the first pitch he saw, Francis hit a 375-foot go-ahead home run to dead center field. There was no doubt about it and from the moment he swung, everybody watching knew the ball was gone.

The first four hitters in the lineup for the Mustangs produced all of the teams runs on Tuesday night. This should be a constant theme this season, although the rest of the lineup is capable of providing some serious damage as well. 

The Mustangs take on the Kentwood Conquerors, Thursday at 4 p.m. The game will be played at Hartman Park as the Mustangs look to secure their second victory of the season. 

Highlights:

Steckler: 2-3 with 2 runs scored and a walk

Firth: 2-4 with 2 RBI

Francis: 1-3 with a HR and 1 RBI

Homer: 3.0 innings pitched with 5 strikeouts, 0 runs let up

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