MARATHON AT THE BALLPARK: Notre Dame outlasts Mules in 11 innings in SEMO Conference battle

A few extra innings were required in a SEMO Conference matchup between the Poplar Bluff Mules and the Notre Dame Bulldogs.

After battling back and forth for 11 innings, the Mules ultimately fell short to Notre Dame 13-9

The last time these two faced off was in 2021 when the Mules won 4-3, but this time around, the Bulldogs came out victorious.

“Overall, I am pleased with how we battled,” Poplar Bluff coach John David Pattillo said. “We never quit, and we didn’t give up. We just have to learn when we have those certain opportunities, we got to finish the game. Our kids are battling and learning how to win, but we will be alright.”

Notre Dame exploded in the first inning by racking up a quick 4-0 lead to start the game. Brycen Clark kicked off the rally for the Bulldogs by connecting with a double to center field, bringing in two runs.

With a hot start from Notre Dame, the Mules (6-7) decided to make a change at the mound with junior Dylan Bratcher, who quickly shifted the momentum to Poplar Bluff.

Stepping up for their first time at bat, the Mules responded by connecting with multiple hits to notch some points on the board. Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the second, David Durbin ripped a hit to left field to bring in a run, and Kolby Greenwall connected on a double to bring in another run, tying up the score at 4-4.

The game remained close for a few innings until freshman Marcus Tabanera scored on a wild pitch to grab a steal at home plate. The Mules snatched the lead at 7-6 headed into the top of the sixth.

Notre Dame answered with a three-run triple from Cole Lemons, which helped the Bulldogs regain a 9-7 lead at the top of the sixth.

Despite being down headed into the seventh, the Mules held their composure to withhold any more runs from Notre Dame. With only one inning remaining, they only needed two runs to extend the game. To keep the Mules’ hopes alive, David Durbin connected with a double to center field to tie the score 9-9 at the end of regulation.

After pushing the game to 11 innings, Notre Dame made enough plays to win with a walk-off strikeout from pitcher Will Dodson.

Dodson won on the mound for Notre Dame. The pitcher allowed five hits and zero runs, striking out seven and walking zero. Houston Crawford and Reid Morgan entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief.

The Mules racked up 16 hits in the game. Greenwall, Bryce Dobbs, Kayson King and Tabenera each racked up multiple hits for the Mules. Greenwall led the Mules with three hits in five at-bats. Dylan Hall led the Mules with two stolen bases as the team stole seven bases.

Notre Dame racked up 12 hits. Jack Evans, TJ Bolen and Dodson all connected on multiple hits for the Bulldogs.

Despite the loss, Poplar Bluff assistant coach Tyler Mathys believes the team is okay and it’s time to keep pushing forward.

“It was a tough loss, but there’re a lot of positives and negatives that came out of this game,” Mathys said. “Our boys battle with some big plays that really turned it around for us. Noah Spain did really well coming in relief throwing 78 pitches, the most he’s done for us all year, and I thought he did pretty good.”

“We came out on the losing end of this one, but like I told the team, we just got to keep flipping the page. We must learn from our mistakes and push ahead to the next one,” Mathys added.

The Mules will be on the road Friday as they head to Tennesee to take on The Webb School at 4:30 p.m.