MAC Drops Two In Region 16 Championship Series

(Joplin) The Mineral Area College Baseball Cardinals saw their season come to an end as they lost two games in the Region 16 Championship round in Joplin on Friday. In the first game, MAC lost a heart-breaker to the State Fair Roadrunners 11-10 in 13 innings. State Fair jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but MAC tied it up in the top of the fifth with a 2-run double by Riley Perks.

MAC’s Jake Pryor then drove in Perks to take the lead.

It was a see-saw battle as MAC added another run in the fifth to make it 5-3, then State Fair scored 5 runs in the sixth to make it 8-5. Two home runs by MAC in the 7th tied it up again at 8-8.

MAC broke the tie and led 10-8 going into the bottom of the ninth when State Fair tied it up at 10 to take the game into extra innings. Finally, in the bottom of the 13th inning, State Fair delivered the final blow.

MAC Assistant Coach Jordan Thompson talks about the 7th inning home runs by Liam Hicks and Dillon Thomas.

In the second game of the evening, Crowder eliminated Mineral Area from the tournament with a 15-3 win over the Cardinals in 5 innings. The Rough Riders jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. MAC scored their first run in the bottom of the first.

A two-run homer in the top of the second gave Crowder a 6-1 lead. The Rough Riders added 2 more to make it 8-1. In the bottom of the second, MAC drew a walk with the bases loaded to score a run and make it 8-2. Crowder scored 7 more runs in the top of the third for a 15-2 lead. The lead would have been even larger if not for this play by MAC’s Riley Perks.

The Cardinals scored one more run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 15-3, but that wasn’t enough to keep the mercy rule from going into effect and ending the game after 5 innings. MAC Assistant Coach Jordan Thompson talks about the loss.