Poplar Bluff edges Oran in 9

ORAN — More than three hours after the first pitch on a cold Saturday at Strenfel Memorial Field, Poplar Bluff's Todd Bullington ripped a ninth-inning single into left field to give the Mules a 9-8 win over Oran.

Facing a hard thrower in Oran reliever Jayden Pobst, Bullington turned on an inside fastball and delivered the hit to drive in pinch runner Colby Geringer with the winning run.

"He'd been throwing some heat, and I just ripped that inside fastball and it turned out good for me," Bullington said. "It makes [winning] a lot better because like I told the team, it's freezing out here, and to come out and lose this game would be heartbreaking."

The hit capped off a 4-for-4 day for the Mules' first baseman, who drove in four of his team's runs.

Before Bullington's game-winner, Brennan Moore doubled to right for his second hit of the game before leaving in favor of Geringer.

The Mules displayed poise at the plate as their final two hits both came on two-strike counts.

The Eagles had their offense working early as 12 of their 13 hits came between the second and fifth innings. Pobst hit a pair of home runs, including a two-run shot in the fifth to help rally Oran.

BRIAN ROSENER ~ Daily American Republic Oran's Jayden Pobst, center, got mobbed by his teammates after hitting a second-inning home run Saturday. Pobst hit two home runs in Oran's 9-8 loss in nine innings to Poplar Bluff.

"We did all right, we just made some big-time crucial mistakes toward the end of the ballgame that will cost you the ballgame," Oran coach Mitch Wood said. "It's that simple. They made the plays and did what it took to win."

Oran starter Alex Chasteen used a hard fastball to his advantage in his four innings on the mound, but gave up big hits to Moore and Bullington in the third inning as the Mules rallied from a 3-2 deficit.

"He threw well, but at the same time, we gave up too many runs," Wood said. "Our pitching gave us a chance to win."

Chasteen allowed eight runs, six of them earned, on six hits in his four innings. He struck out three, walked two and hit a batter. Pobst took the loss in relief, allowing a run on five hits while striking out nine in his 4 1/3 innings.

"That kid they had throwing was throwing some gas," Poplar Bluff coach Stan Bullington said of Pobst.

The Eagles took a first-inning lead when Caleb Seyer walked and came around to score on a wild pitch. But a pair of Oran errors helped Poplar Bluff get on the board in the bottom half.

"Defensively, we were so-so," Wood said. "When you score eight runs, you ought to win the ballgame."

Pobst's home run to the right-field gap put Oran up 3-2 in the second.

After a bunt by Bobby McIntosh scored Bullington in the third to put the Mules up 6-3, Oran got an RBI double from Seyer and pulled within 6-5 on a wild pitch in the fourth inning.

Oran scored three times in the fifth starting with Pobst's second home run followed by a single from pinch hitter Alex Daniel, who later scored on a wild pitch that tied the game at 8-8.

The Eagles had chances in the eighth and ninth innings to pull ahead, but Mules reliever Taylor Boles got out of both jams.