Fighting Squirrels take 3 of 4 in tourney with pitching that 'has been really good'

The Charleston Fighting Squirrels rattled off three victories in four games at the recent Up and Coming World Series in Columbia, and as this summer is progressing, the team’s pitching is showing its depth.

“For whatever reason,” veteran Fighting Squirrel coach Michael Minner said recently, “our pitching has been really good.”

The Fighting Squirrels (23-13) opened the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Southside 17U, before grabbing a 4-2 win over Adidas Athletics Gold 17U/18U. Those games were followed by victories over Eagles Select-Balsamo 17U (4-1) and Faultline (10-5).

In all but the Faultline game, the Fighting Squirrel pitching was dominant.

“We’ve been playing really good,” Minner said. “We’ve kind of turned the corner.”

In the opening defeat, Notre Dame thrower Jack Evans was very impressive.

He allowed just one earned run in 6 1/3 innings of work while giving up four hits, walking three, and striking out four.

Evans threw 60 strikes in his 91-pitch game.

The Fighting Squirrels could only muster four hits in the game, though one was a triple by former Dexter High School standout Kaeden Kennedy.

“Over the last two or three weeks, you can’t get him out,” Minner said recently of Kennedy. “It’s been fun to watch. It is exciting to watch a kid when he has an incredible amount of success.

“It’s fun to watch Kaeden play because he deserves this.”

Against the Adidas squad, former East Prairie High School pitcher Peyton Hodges worked six innings and allowed just two earned runs.

Hodges, who will pitch at Kenyon College (Ohio) this fall, allowed five hits, walked three, and struck out seven batters.

He threw 58 strikes in his 99-pitch outing.

In the win over Eagles Select-Balsamo, former Chaffee thrower Levi McKinnie was stellar, as he threw a seven-inning complete game.

McKinnie gave up four hits but did not allow an earned run.

He struck out eight batters and walked only two, as he threw 63 strikes in his 100-pitch effort.

To close the tournament, the Fighting Squirrels got a great offensive performance from former Sikeston High School athlete Noah Pruitt.

The Three Rivers Community College recruit totaled three hits, including a double, to go with two RBI and a run scored.

“We’re playing some solid defense,” Minner said, “and we’ve started to swing the bats.”

Minner said the tournament would give his team “an opportunity to go up there and play four games against quality competition.”

That has been an emphasis for Minner’s team this summer.

In preparation for next month’s 2023 Babe Ruth World Series for 16-18-year-olds, which will be played in Cape Girardeau on August 14 through the 19th at Capaha Field and Cape Central High School, Minner said his team has played “our toughest schedule that we have played in the past 10 years.”

That schedule continues today at Harmon Field in Chaffee.

The Fighting Squirrels will face the Missouri Marlins for a doubleheader at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Friday at Capaha Field against the Southeast Tropics.

“We’re trying to piece some games together,” Minner said of his late-summer schedule. “We want to make sure that we’re playing twice a week to keep our pitchers fresh and our hitters seeing live action.”