Gulf Coast Classic: Mules coast to victory over Morristown

GULF SHORES — The Poplar Bluff Mules baseball team has stayed busy this week at the Gulf Shores Classic baseball tournament in Gulf Shores, Alabama, at Baldwin County High School.

The Mules kicked off the tournament with a 9-4 win over the Mortimer Jordan Blue Devils on Monday and looked to add more notches onto the win column. Due to weather conditions on Tuesday, the Mules had to cancel their matchup, so they were locked and loaded for the competition the following day.

The Mules took on the Morristown-Hamblen West Trojans on Wednesday and after a boost of run in the third inning, the Mules coasted to a 16-4 win. The Mules improved to 5-2 on the season and captured their fourth straight win.

Mules coach John David Pattillo said they were excited to participate in the tournament and knew they would play some solid competition outside of Southeast Missouri. So far, the Mules have picked up two wins, and Pattillo said it’s important that they keep this groove going.

“We did a lot of things in the matchup,” Pattillo said. “We ran the bases pretty well, but we got a bit staggered in the second inning but we pulled it together. I was pleased with the kids and how we handled ourselves. We got some guys some opportunities. We tried to stay with (Dylan) Bratcher as long as we could to keep his rhythm going. The job isn’t finished yet. We got to come back out and play tomorrow. We've got a lot of pitching saved up, so I'm excited about our day.”

Last season the Mules saw their struggles of starting the game with a solid rhythm, so far this season, they’ve managed to come out with a different mindset. The Mules got on the board in the top of the first inning after Noah Spain doubled and Marcus Tabanera singled, each scoring one run.

The Mules continued to add to their early lead at the top of the second inning as

Kolby Greenwall walked, and Spain singled, each scoring one run. After Morristown-Hamblen scored their first run at the bottom of the second, The Mules had one of their best innings of the season thus far by collecting multiple runs over the Trojans.

The Mules scored seven runs on two hits in the top of the third inning. Cameron Settle drew a walk, scoring one run, Dylan Hall drew a walk, scoring one run, an error scored three runs and Kade Huffman doubled, scoring two runs.

Senior Dylan Bratcher said he was looking forward to the Gulf Coast Class for a chance to spend some time with his teammates and play some good competition.

“I believe this tournament will be good for us,” Bratcher said. “We’ve been able to play some tough matchups, and it gives us a chance to see how good we really are against teams outside of Southeast Missouri.”

Bratcher was the leading guy from the mound for the Mules. The starting pitcher surrendered three hits and three runs (two earned) over four innings, striking out five and walking three.

Bryson Shepard took the loss for Morristown-Hamblen West. Shepard went two innings, surrendering seven runs on five hits, striking out two and walking four. Drew Cooper pitched one inning of shutout ball for the Mules in relief. He gave up zero hits, striking out one and walking two.

The Mules connected with 13 hits in the game. Huffman and Spain were a tough duo to handle from behind the plate, as each drove in two runs for Poplar Bluff, while Myles Johnson collected two hits for Mules in three at-bats. Greenwall kept the Trojans on their toes and managed to grab two stolen bases in the contest.

Next up for the Mules is a game against the Bradley-Bourbonnais Boilermakers on Thursday.