Portageville outslugs East Prairie

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — It was a good old-fashioned shootout at Meatte Park on Monday, with Portageville edging East Prairie 9-7 in a display of offensive fireworks.

While both teams showcased firepower, the Bulldogs (21-6) ultimately had enough in the tank to outlast the Eagles (11-9).

“We continually put the ball in play and we’ll take the win,” said Portageville coach Tyler Trover. “But overall, we have to be a little bit better and I think we will be when it matters. We escaped today and we’ll live with it.”

Portageville's Beau-Hunter Warren (22) makes a catch for an out during a 9-7 win over East Prairie at Meatte Park on Monday, April 22, 2024.Dennis Marshall ~ Standard-Democrat

Portageville struck first, with Aaron Dunlap crossing the plate on Carson Bradley's sacrifice fly in the opening frame. They added two more in the second inning as Huston Partin's single brought home Rylan Partin, and Xayvion Bogan's sacrifice fly plated Huston.

East Prairie roared back in the top of the third inning, knotting the score at 3-3. Noah Johnson drove in Tate Henderson, and Hunter Newston's single brought in Jack Pearson and Rayne Jerrigan.

Johnson later scored on an error to give the Eagles a 4-3 edge.

Teammates congratulate Noah Johnson (7) following a home run during East Prairie's 9-7 loss to Portageville at Meatte Park on Monday, April 22, 2024.Dennis Marshall ~ Standard-Democrat

The lead was short-lived, however. Bradley scored on a groundout in the bottom of the inning to tie it, followed by Beau-Hunter Warren and Jayquan Bogan crossing the plate on errors, giving Portageville a 6-4 advantage.

“We didn’t play clean defensively and that hurt us,” said East Prairie coach Gary Scott. “But the guys played hard and never gave up. We hit the ball pretty well, just didn’t play clean enough to pull out the win.”

Mason Adams furthered Portageville's lead with a run in the fourth inning, and Jayquan Bogan knocked him in during the fifth for an 8-4 scoreline.

Warren then added what proved to be a crucial insurance run on a bases-loaded walk.

Huston Partin battled on the mound for Portageville, earning the win after allowing six earned runs over 6.2 innings.

“He settled in nicely,” Trover said. “He battled, figured it out and found a way to keep pitching without his best stuff.”

East Prairie refused to quit. Johnson's three-run blast in the bottom of the seventh narrowed it at 9-7, but Adams closed the door with a strikeout to seal the win for Portageville.

Portageville will compete in the Bootheel Conference Tournament this weekend.

“Overall, we are in a real good spot,” Trover said. “We feel like we are playing one of the toughest schedules in Class 2. We know what we have to do. That’s the good thing about having a veteran group, they know nothing is guaranteed.”

Winfied White took the loss, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing three earned runs on eight hits with one walked batter.

“[White] did a great job throwing strikes, pitched to contact and got a lot of outs,” Scott said. “He did an excellent job.”

East Prairie travels to Greenville (16-7) on Friday, April 26.

__PORTAGEVILLE 9, EAST PRAIRIE 7__

E. Prairie 004 000 3 — 7 6 6

P’Ville 123 102 x — 9 8 2

W—Huston Partin. L—Winfield White. 2B—Portageville: Beau-Hunter Warren. 3B—Portageville: Mason Adams. HR—East Prairie: Noah Johnson.