Middle relief woes lead to Greyhound loss

Fort Scott's Jake Parsons (11) is welcomed by a teammate after hitting a 3-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a non-conference game against Crowder (Mo.) Wednesday afternoon at Lions Field. Parsons had 3 hits in the game but the Greyhounds lost to the visiting Roughriders 6-5.
(Kenny Felt/Captured Images)

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At Neosho, Mo., in their season opener, the Roughriders swept the Greyhounds by double-digit margins in a doubleheader. Wednesday, only some shaky middle relief pitching was the difference between the teams as Fort Scott dropped a 6-5 decision.

"They were just better than us today, particularly in relief pitching," Fort Scott head coach John Hill said. "Two of our middle guys were freshmen and not ready to pitch. But it was good that happened in a non-conference game rather than a conference game with Johnson County or Highland."

A pair of 2-run home runs in the top of the sixth inning off William Kilpatrick gave Crowder a 5-1 lead. Kilpatrick allowed the homers and a pair of doubles to four of the first five hitters he faced.

Freshman outfielder Jake Parsons brought the 'Hounds (5-6) within 5-4 when he hit a 3-run homer to left -- against the breeze, which is no mean feat at Lions Field -- scoring Josh Samuelson and John Leek.

Another freshman pitcher, Jesse Hart, struggled in the top of the eighth. He failed to get the first two batters he faced out and was pulled. A two-out single off Zach Weinandt scored one of the runners to boost Crowder's lead to 6-4.

The 'Hounds scored a run in the bottom of the ninth as Dylan Banach got Leek home with a groundout. But a game-ending strikeout left a runner stranded on third.

The Greyhounds had 9 hits in the game. Parsons was 3 for 4 at the plate.

"(Crowder's) pitcher was very good," Hill said of Rider starter Scott McFall, who went the first 7 innings. "he commanded both sides of the plate. He threw three pitches and threw them well. We could have been better offensively."

Crowder, coached by Girard High School graduate Travis Lallemand, improved to 12-7 on the season. The Roughriders were ranked No. 24 in the pre-season national baseball poll.

Fort Scott scored the game's first run as Banach led off the Greyhound half of the first and was hit by a pitch. Stuart Jeck followed with a single and Kian Jost sacrificed the runners over. Brandon Davis' groundout scored Banach.

Crowder got a leadoff solo home run in the top of the second to tie the score off starter Tyler Spear. The sophomore pitcher lasted 5 innings, allowing that one run on 5 hits and 3 walks with one strikeout.

If the expected rain holds off today, the 'Hounds will play another single 9-inning game at 2 p.m. today against Butler at Lions Field. The Grizzlies, although they are currently just 7-6, received some votes in the pre-season poll.

"We played Butler a couple of times in the fall," Hill said. "They have a good staff. They have good players. That's why we scheduled them and we scheduled Crowder. In the long term, playing teams like these will be good preparation for us when we go into conference play."

If today's game is postponed, the 'Hounds will wait until Saturday at Cowley to play again.

WP -- McFall. LP -- Kilpatrick.

HR -- Crowder: Bates, 2nd inn, none on, none out; Larkin, 6th inn., one on, none out; Roberts, 6th inn., one on, one out. Fort Scott: Parsons, 7th inn., two on, one out.