MORAN — A dropped third strike, of all things, capped a wild back-and-forth affair for Marmaton Valley High’s baseball team Monday.
The Wildcats were knotted with visiting Chetopa, 8-8, in the bottom of the seventh, when the Wildcats’ Chase Smith smacked a leadoff double. He was there with one out when Marmaton Valley’s Kolby Knavel struck out, but had a chance to reach base when the ball eluded the Chetopa catcher’s glove.
The catcher retrieved the ball, and in his haste to try to throw out Knavel at first, instead launched the ball down the right-field line.
Smith easily rounded third and scored, giving the Wildcats a dramatic 9-8 win.
Marmaton Valley dispensed with any drama in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring six in the second and 11 in the third of a 17-2 romp.
The doubleheader sweep lifts the Wildcats to 5-7 on the season.
Chetopa burst out to a 5-1 lead in the opener before Marmaton Valley’s Carter Burton and Dylan Drake sandwiched triples around a Wyatt Ard double to cut the deficit to 5-4.
Quincy Adams then walked with one out in the fourth, Robert Cook singled as part of a two-run fourth to push the Wildcats on top, 6-5.
The teams traded leads once more, with the Hornets retaking a 7-6 advantage in the fifth before Adams blasted a solo home run in the sixth to tie the score. Cook then singled, Ard walked and Drake singled to push MV ahead, 8-7.
But a walk, two stolen bases and a single allowed Chetopa to knot the score at 8-8 in the top of the seventh to set up the dramatic walk-off strikeout.
Adams had a home run and scored three times, Cook singled twice and scored twice and reached base in all four plate appearances. Burton had a triple. Ard singled and doubled. Drake singled, doubled and tripled. Chase Smith doubled twice. Dominic Smith and Ian Bostick added singles.
CHETOPA took a quick 1-0 lead in Game 2 before Marmaton Valley’s offense hit high gear in the second inning. Adams homered — his second on the day — Drake and Dominic Smith had singles and Chase Smith had a double as the Wildcats took a 6-1 lead.
The floodgates opened in the third. Ard blasted a home run, Drake hit a double and triple in the frame, Chase Smith singled twice, and MV took advantage of five walks and two hit batters to close things out.
Adams had a single and home run. Cook hit a single and a double and had a home run. Drake replicated the first game by singling, doubling and tripling. Chase Smith singled twice and doubled. Dominic Smith had a single.
