The Marmaton Valley Wildcats continue building steam ahead of the postseason after sweeping the Yates Center Wildcats 6-0 and 14-4 during Thursday’s Three Rivers League showdown.
Senior MVHS pitcher Dominic Smith accounted for all but five outs of the opener as he racked up 16 strikeouts in a complete game effort.
Junior outfielder Todd Stevenson put MVHS on the scoreboard with an RBI blooper to right field in the second inning, followed by RBIs from Smith and junior second baseman Brevyn Campbell — giving Marmarton Valley a 3-0 advantage by the fourth inning. The Wildcats added three more runs on RBIs by junior outfielder Chris Ferguson, who later scored on an errant pitch, and a sixth inning RBI double by junior catcher Garrett Morrison.
Shut out in the opener, the Yates Center Wildcats were not entirely unsuccessful. Senior pitcher Kaiden Rutherford tallied nine strikeouts over five innings while allowing just two walks. Sophomore Braxtyn Rutherford and freshman catcher Evan McVey tied for the team lead in hits while successful in 1 of 3 at-bats.
Yates Center experienced a bit of an uptick in offense during the finale, but so did Marmaton Valley, who ended the contest after scoring 10 unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings. McVey gave Yates Center an early lead after stealing home on a passed ball in the opening frame, but Marmaton Valley countered with an RBI single by freshman third baseman Thomas Allee.
Yates Center took a 2-1 lead on another pitching error, this time sophomore outfielder Nolan Lampe stealing home on an errant pitch, then tied the game in the fifth on a two-RBI single by Braxtyn Rutherford, but it was all Marmaton Valley from there.
An Allee RBI single in the fifth gave Marmaton Valley the lead, then scored on an infield error to make it 6-4. By the time the dust finally settled, Stevenson — hot off medaling in multiple track and field events at the Marv Smith Invitational — ended the game with a team-leading four RBIs while hitting in 2 of 4 at-bats. Allee was not far behind with three RBIs while hitting in 3 of 5 at-bats.
On the mound, junior pitcher Tyler Lord picked up the win with 12 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings and walking five. Allee came on in relief — striking out the only batter he faced.
For Yates Center, McVey tallied six strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings while allowing seven walks, eight hits and eight runs. Yates Center also had a respectable day in the batter’s box with Braxtyn Rutherford driving in a team-leading pair of RBIs while hitting in 1 of 3 at-bats. His big brother Kaiden Rutherford had a team-leading three hits while successful in 3 of 3 at-bats.
Yates Center returns to the diamond Monday to host the Marais des Cygnes Valley Trojans for a doubleheader.
Marmaton Valley returns Wednesday for a doubleheader against Marais des Cygnes Valley. First pitches for both doubleheaders are 4:30 and 6:45 p.m.
