The St. Joseph Mustangs opened their homestand with a 6-4 win over the Des Moines Peak Prospects Wednesday night. With back-to-back North Division victories, St. Joe now sits at 8-5 and 7-5 in M.I.N.K. League play.
Once again, the Mustangs prevailed on the back of their pitching staff. Right-hander Tyson Hilsabeck started the game, striking out eight and allowing two runs in six solid innings. After Aron Harrington’s seven innings on Tuesday, the Mustangs have doubled their quality start total in just two nights.
St. Joe fell behind by a run in the top of the second but was quick to respond. With two away in the bottom half of the inning, catcher Oscar Pegg barreled a single to left. That tied the game at one and gave Pegg his first RBI of the summer.
In the fourth, St. Joe loaded the bases with one out, coming away with a second run on a wild pitch. Though Des Moines evened the score in the top of the sixth, right fielder Brayden Luikart cut down a runner at home, holding the Prospects out of a potential lead.
With the game tied at two, the Mustangs again loaded the bases with one out. After Pegg went down swinging, Harrington picked him up and put St. Joe ahead for good. His single up the middle never left the infield, but it scored two runs as Des Moines made an errant throw to the plate.
Des Moines pulled back within a run in the seventh, but for the third time, St. Joe pushed back. Luikart came home on another wild pitch, making it 5-3 Mustangs. After right-hander Jay Greco retained the lead over two innings of relief, St. Joe added one more run in the eighth on a Luikart sacrifice fly.
Right-handed Jack Wells entered for a save in the ninth, and the game got interesting. After retiring the first two with ease, Wells allowed the next three to reach. Suddenly, Des Moines was back within two and had the tying run on first. However, with a grounder back to the mound, Wells shut down the rally.
The Mustangs will continue their homestand Thursday at 7 p.m. against the Carroll Merchants. St. Joe and Carroll have already played once this season, as the Mustangs came back to win in extra innings on June 6.
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