The St. Joseph Mustangs topped the Joplin Outlaws for a second consecutive game Friday night. Winning 8-1, the Mustangs improved their season record to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in M.I.N.K. League play.
Pitching made all the difference in Friday’s game. Joplin outhit the Mustangs 7-2 but allowed them to reach base through the walk 18 times. On the other side, St. Joseph pitching issued zero free passes while striking out 12 Outlaws.
Left-handed pitcher Michael Infranca made his first start of the summer for St. Joe. He pitched five innings of one-run baseball, earning the win and never allowing more than two baserunners in a single frame. His only blemish came in the second when Joplin took the early lead on a two-out double. Otherwise, Infranca struck out six Outlaws.
To begin the sixth, he turned the game over to right-hander Camden Lutz, who extended his season-opening scoreless inning streak to eight innings. Retiring 10 consecutive hitters to end the game, Lutz conceded only one baserunner overall. With six strikeouts, he picked up the save.
Offensively, St. Joe cracked the scoreboard in the second inning on three walks and a hit-by-pitch. Second baseman Noah Bodenhausen drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to center.
Six more Mustang runs crossed home between the fourth and sixth innings. In both the fifth and sixth, Joplin issued three consecutive free passes to set up multiple St. Joe runs.
By the game’s end, all nine hitters in the Mustangs’ lineup had taken at least one walk. Designated hitter Jayden Little ended up with three different RBI walks, while third baseman Michael Paule scored three runs.
The Mustangs will wrap up their four-game homestand Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Sedalia Bombers.
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