Late-inning offense helps Trojans overtake De Soto

DE SOTO — The Potosi lineup struggled with adjusting to a low strike zone through four innings on Monday, as tall De Soto hurler Jake Patzner mowed down 13 of his 14 batters faced.

But sophomore outfielder Ethan Short provided timely hits during his final two plate appearances, and collected four RBI overall as the Trojans rallied late for a 6-4 road win.

Potosi trailed 3-2 entering the sixth inning, and grabbed the lead to stay with four consecutive two-out hits. Singles from Dylan Coleman and Devin Hammock sparked the pivotal comeback.

The Trojans caught a tough break when a liner by Ryan Portell struck the field umpire and remained on the infield, but Short calmly ripped a three-run double into the left-center field gap two pitches later.

Pinch-hitter Brandon Fluegge brought the Dragons within 5-4 during the home half of the sixth. Potosi restored a two-run advantage when Dakota Glore ripped a RBI single in the top of the seventh.

A routine pop fly fell between three Potosi players behind the mound, and a sacrifice bunt moved runners to second and third in the De Soto seventh. But Lane Mercille struck out the next batter to record the two-inning save.

Jacob Reed worked the first five frames to win his first start of the spring, as Potosi (6-10) notched its third victory in four games. The right-hander fanned five while yielding only two hits.

Dominic Bays reached base three times to pace De Soto (6-10). The first baseman hammered a leadoff home run to begin the scoring in the second.

Patzner compiled 13 strikeouts through six innings, and faced no adversity prior to an error and hit batsman in the fifth. Short slapped a tying RBI single to right, and Portell scored on a passed ball for a 2-1 Potosi lead.

The Dragons regained the lead during the home half. Nick Richman smashed a RBI double off the third baseman, and cruised home on a wild throw past third base while advancing on an offering in the dirt.

Colby Eckhoff and Luke Jacobsen added singles for the Trojans, who will seek their second conference win today at Fredericktown.

Potosi  000 023 1 – 6  8  2

De Soto  010 021 0 – 4  3  1

WP – Jacob Reed 5ip 3r 2er 2h 5k 3bb 1hp.

LP – Jake Patzner 6ip 5r 4er 6h 13k 0bb 1hp.

SV – Lane Mercille 2ip 1r 1er 1h 3k 2bb.

Hitting:

Potosi – Ethan Short 2-3, Ryan Portell 1-2, Devin Hammock 1-3, Colby Eckhoff 1-3, Luke Jacobsen 1-4, Dakota Glore 1-4, Dylan Coleman 1-4. 2b – Short.

De Soto – Dominic Bays 1-1, Brandon Fluegge 1-1, Nick Richman 1-3. 2b – Richman. HR – Bays (1).