Poplar Bluff outlasts Oran in 11 innings

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Oran baseball team had plenty of chances to end the regular season with a win Wednesday afternoon, but Poplar Bluff kept swinging.

The Eagles nearly turned a game-ending triple play in the seventh inning before escaping a bases-loaded jam later in the inning. They had Poplar Bluff down to its final out in the 10th inning.

But the Mules rallied again then won it 6-5 in the 11th.

"I'll give them credit, they kept battling back," Oran coach Mitch Wood said. "We kept letting them in the door. We had a few times we could have shut the door."

Consecutive RBI hits by Dalton Elfrink and Jacob Priggel in the 10th put Oran ahead 5-3, but a pair of two-out hits by Poplar Bluff tied it again.

Poplar Bluff's Trenton Eudaley slides into Oran catcher Alex Heuring as the ball pops loose during the third inning Wednesday in Poplar Bluff, Mo. (BRIAN ROSENER ~ Daily American Republic)

A throwing error allowed Lucas Tibbs to start the 11th inning at second. Jeff Rowland provided the winner with one out when he plugged the right-field gap just beyond the outstretched glove of the center fielder.

"The kids just kept battling," Mules coach Stan Bullington said.

Oran (15-8) led 3-1 through five innings, but Poplar Bluff (15-7) got a run in the sixth to set up a wild and wacky bottom of the seventh.

Charlie Kayser singled and courtesy runner Trever Lewis moved to third on Brandon Stuckenscheider's double.

Tibbs hit a ground ball to the right side and Oran shortstop Seth Ressel threw out Lewis trying to get back to third. Stuckenscheider, who broke for third, then was caught in a rundown and tagged out. Tibbs, in the meantime, headed for second and got in before a tag with a headfirst slide.

"Really, I thought it was a triple play," Wood said. "It was a good heads-up play on our end. As bad as we looked on a couple of plays, we looked OK on that one."

In the confusion of the play, Lewis crossed the plate and the scoreboard read 3-3 until Josh King stepped to the plate following a walk.

King tied it with a double to right field. Another walk loaded the bases before Kody Moore got out of the jam with a pop fly to the second baseman.

King was 4 for 4 with two walks and drove in Poplar Bluff's first run with a two-out hit in the third inning. His leadoff single started a rally in the 10th, while Kayser's two-out RBI single tied it.

Oran went ahead 5-3 in the top of the 10th when Alex Heuring was hit by a pitch and scored on Elfrink's triple to the right-field gap. Priggel followed with an RBI single.

The Eagles scored three in the first thanks to a pair of miscues by the Mules.

Moore started with a wind-swept fly ball that landed for a double in right. After a walk and hit batter loaded the bases, Elfrink hit a slow roller to the left side to score Moore. An errant throw allowed Ressel also to score before Priggel's RBI single.

Oran managed just one hit over the next seven innings against three pitchers.

The Eagles used three different pitchers in their final tuneup before the Class 1 District 2 tournament. Top-seeded Oran plays at 2 p.m. Tuesday against the winner of Advance and Scott County Central.

Oran 300 000 000 20 -- 5 9 2

Bluff 001 001 100 21 -- 6 12 3

WP -- Logan Misner. LP -- Chance Tenkhoff. Multiple hitters -- (O) Kody Moore 2-6. Seth Ressel 2-5. Dalton Elfrink 2-2. Priggel 2-5. (PB) Josh King 4-4. Kayser 2-5. Stuckenscheider 2-5. 2B -- (PB) King. Stuckenscheider; 3B -- (O) Elfrink; (PB) King. Records -- Oran 15-8. Poplar Bluff 15-7.