Mules ride fast start to opening win over Neelyville

No extra innings were required on Friday as the Poplar Bluff Mules set the tone for the baseball season by dominating Neelyville on opening day.

The Mules built a strong lead early to walk away with a 14-4 victory in only 4 1/2 innings.

“It feels good to have the kids come out and have a little bit of success to start the season,” Poplar Bluff coach John David Pattillo said. “This was a good start for us. I thought we did some good things, but there are definitely some kinks we need to iron out to get better throughout the season.”

The Mules returned with three key starters from last year that Pattillo said will be great assets for their success throughout the season — senior Kayson King, junior Kolby Greenwall and sophomore Noah Spain.

“Those guys really got to play a lot last season, and I think we’ve seen some improvement already. Their leadership and experience will be of great value to us this season as we get everyone else up to speed,” Pattillo said.

Sophomore Dylan Hall kicked things off for the Mules with a line drive down third base, which put him in position to notch in the first run of the season from a fly ball hit from Noah Spain. After the first taste of home plate, the Mules were hungry to build the lead early by slugging in six runs in the bottom of first inning.

Stepping into the second inning, the Mules continued to bring in runs, shutting down any window for Neelyville to climb back into the game.

By the end of the third, the Mules took a commanding 14-1 lead. Pattillo credits the pitchers who controlled the game’s pace from the mound. Junior Rylan Seesengood led the pack with six strikeouts, Dylan Bratcher added three and David Durbin closed the game with one.

“I believe the pitching was good for us,” Pattillo said. “Our pitchers were throwing with a lot of energy, which we will need against most of our opponents. Overall, I think they did a good job helping us maintain the lead and get the win.”

King, who recorded three runs, two hits, two RBIs and stole a base, said he’s been eager to get back on the ball field — and is happy to get their first win of the season.

“It feels really good to get this first win out the way,” King said. “We had a lot of questions about how we were going to be during the offseason, but it feels good to answer some of those coming in.”

During the early practices, King said the team is looking solid as they continue to clean up their gameplay for the season. With high expectations, King believes this team has what it takes to make a run at the district championship.

It’s a long season ahead of the Mules, but Pattillo said that getting better each game is a high priority for the team.

“Day after day, we are trying to be better than we were the day before,” he said. “We just have to play and focus on each game at a time and continue to practice the little things we must get done throughout the season. We’ll be battle-tested early, but I believe we have all the pieces we need to push ahead.”

The Mules will have a big test next week with five games in six days. The Mules will hit the road in their first matchup against North County at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Meanwhile, Neelyville is slated to play at the Risco round-robin Saturday and heads to Bernie Monday.