Miscues costly for Mules: Poplar Bluff commits eight errors in loss to Greene County Tech

The Poplar Bluff Mules baseball team is attempting to iron out the kinks and searching for the right flow to a more consistent season.

However, that quest hit some turbulence Thursday. Thanks to miscommunication and eight errors, the Mules were no match for the Greene County Tech Golden Eagles and ultimately fell 11-3 at Strenfel Field.

Head coach John David Pattillo expected the Mules to play a lot better today, especially since the team’s most recent conversation was about leadership and being more vocal on the field.

“I’m a little disappointed in how we approached this game,” Pattillo said. “We made many mistakes. We allowed balls to bounce past us and made careless decisions. We have to clean up our baseball immaturity real quick. These are great kids, but we must become more solid with our playmaking to get in a better flow.”

The Mules had their hands full against the Eagles as they made a quick run to start the game. Senior Hutson Guinn struck first for the Eagles with a double on a ground hit to left field, bringing in Karter Willis for the first score of the evening.

The Eagles continued to capitalize off the early errors from the Mules to take a quick 4-0 lead just one-half inning into the game.

However, the Mules didn’t have to wait much longer to get on the board as sophomore Noah Spain, who finished with two hits and two RBIs, connected on a line drive past second base to advance Dylan Hall over home plate in the bottom of the first inning.

Trailing 6-2 heading into the top of the sixth, the Mules failed to make any adjustments within their defensive play or connect on any hits to gain momentum. As for the Eagles, they saw that the writing was on the wall for them to expand the lead and put the Mules away for good.

The Eagles connected on multiple hits, which aided them in taking a commanding 9-2 lead to close their half of the sixth inning. With bases loaded at the bottom of the sixth, the Mules attempted their last opportunity to land some runs, but pincher Asher Griffin stood tall for the Eagles by landing multiple strikeouts.

The Mules fought hard to the end, but with the constant battle of playing from behind, it’s been rough to win consistently.

Pattillo said getting out of a hole has continued to be an obstacle that the Mules have yet to figure out.

“We’ve got to get more consistent all around,” Pattillo said. “We must start the game throwing more strikes to help with early runs. When you start trailing 4-0, then it goes to 6-0 in the first inning, that will kill any team. Our goal for the next couple of games is not to allow that to happen.”

Tyler Vincent got the win for Greene County Tech Golden Eagles on the mound and had one strikeout. Jayden Rodgers added a strikeout, and Asher Griffin finished with five strikeouts to close the game.

The Eagles stole six bases during the game and Guinn led the way with three.

Rylan Seesengood started and finished with three strikeouts for the Mules, while David Durbin added three strikeouts to close the game.

The Mules connected with seven hits as Kolby Greenwall and Noah Spain collected multiple hits.