By DONN ADAMSON
Daily Journal Sports Editor

Published: Sunday, April 19, 2009
Updated: Sunday, April 19, 2009 7:13 AM CDT

ST. LOUIS — Exercising a few rain delays, the Mineral Area College Cardinals and the Florissant Valley Fury were able to get their Saturday doubleheader completed including an extra inning.

The Cardinals received an excellent pitching performance by Dustin Hunter in game one  with a three-hitter for a 2-1 win. In game two, the Cardinals rallied late to force an extra inning, but it went to the Fury’s favor as they scored in the bottom of the eighth on two straight hits for a 10-9 win.

Hunter had a rough start, walking a batter and hitting one in the first inning, but he got the next two batters to ground out. The freshman pitcher did the same in the sixth, before giving way to Chance Cleveland for the seventh. Cleveland struck out two batters for the save.

Hunter kept his pitches down for the most part, getting 13 of the Fury batters to ground out, and MAC’s infield took care of business. The Cardinals committed the only error in the game in the seventh inning, but it came to no harm.

Florissant Valley’s only run came on a home run by Lance Roth to tie the game in the third inning.

Mineral Area scored their first run in the top of the third. Three straight singles by Drew Pixley, Bobby Tatum and Blake Pinnon to start the inning, set up a bases-loaded situation for designated hitter Mike Bigogno who delivered a long fly ball to score Pixley. A double play followed to squelch the potential rally.

Hunter was matched pitch for pitch by Fury pitcher Brandon Simon and the score remained tied until the top of the seventh.

A lead-off single by Tyler Beers and a sacrifice bunt by Cleveland put pinch-runner Adam Blum into scoring position and three straight walks to MAC batters resulted in Bigogno picking up his second RBI, setting the stage for Cleveland’s save.

Matt Thompson and Bigogno also had one single in the game.

In game two, the Fury unleashed a five-hit, six-run fourth inning to take a 8-4 lead, but the Cardinals did not cave in. Relief pitcher Phillip Davolt held the Fury at bay until the sixth inning. 

The Cardinals (17-23) scored a run in the first on a RBI single by Richie Stanley to score Tatum who had reached on a lead-off single. In the second, Tatum made it 4-0 with a three run home run following a walk to Korey Domenick and a single by Pixley.

Florissant Valley cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second inning. Doubles by Brett Seitrich and Matt Hester highlighted their six-run rally in the fourth.

Mineral Area cut the four-run lead in half in the sixth inning on a two-run homer by Dylan Harris, but a costly MAC error gave Fury a run in the sixth. The Cardinals tied the game at 9-9, in the top of the seventh on solo home runs by Pinnon and Stanley, and a RBI triple by Domenick.

Isaac Armstrong kept the Fury quiet in their last at-bats in regulation, but a two-out single by Hester and a double by Blake Carrigan pinned the loss on Armstrong.

Mineral Area will host Crowder in a doubleheader at noon today.