Bulldogs claw back to beat Bears 5-4

In a battle between two of Southeast Missouri's small school baseball juggernauts, Portageville defeated Greenville 5-4 on Friday, April 21, at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

“Those are the kind of games that prepare you for the playoffs, for both teams,” Portageville head coach Tyler Trover said. "That was a good game for both teams and fortunately we were able to come out and win the game."

Mason Adams hit an RBI double and Thomas Frakes hit an RBI single to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the third inning.

Greenville tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the third on an RBI triple by Wyatt Friley. The Bears later took a 4-3 lead with two runs in the fifth inning.

Portageville scored a run in the final three innings to win the game. Trey Benthal advanced to third base and went on to score the go-ahead run on a passed ball in the seventh inning.

“We had really good base running,” Benthal said. "We had other good aspects in the game, but baserunning is what got us tonight."

Adams secured the win on the mound for the Bulldogs on a strikeout.

The Bulldogs improved their record to 22-2 on the season. They started the season with a perfect March (10-0). After starting the month of April with a loss to Valle Catholic, they picked up three wins before losing a close contest to Kennett on April 10. Portageville is currently on a nine-game winning streak.

“We do have a confident club," Trover said. "A good thing about confidence is it only lasts as long as your next day starting pitcher. I think the biggest thing is we had three games this week where we beat our opponent pretty good through conference play there. But we had to grind one out when really, there was a lot of swings back and forth all night. The fact that we show a lot of resiliency, that's a great sign for us going forward, so very proud of our effort tonight."

Portageville returns home on Monday to host Notre Dame in the battle of the Bulldogs at 4:30 p.m. Greenville (12-2) will look to rebound from its second loss of the season at Van Buren at 4 p.m., on Monday.