Hoots Drop Second Straight Game to Start Season

Meyer’s two hits not enough in loss to Alton

Looking to rebound following an opening night loss, the O’Fallon Hoots (0-2) played host to the rival Alton River Dragons (1-0) on Thursday night. Alton’s offense proved too much for the Hoots to handle, as they fell 8-5. 

Inside the Box Score

• Chase Beattie continued his hot start to the season, going 2-4 while knocking in an RBI and scoring two runs himself. Beattie is now up to four RBIs on the young season while batting .571.
• Mike Maloney broke out collecting two base hits, including a triple. Maloney also tallied an RBI and run scored. 
• Tucker Platt and Drew Pollite collected the other RBIs for O’Fallon. 
• Jack Meyer made his season debut for the Hoots, going 2-5. 

How It Happened

• Alton struck first in the top of the first inning. Alton leadoff hitter Dylan Mass reached on a single before swiping second base. Matt Haley got the next two batters out, but Mass stole third to put him 90 feet from home. An off-the-wall single from Erik Broekemeier drove Mass in for the first run of the day, but, despite loading the bags, that would be the only run of the inning for the River Dragons.
• River Dragon pitcher Luke Gasser came out firing, issuing four strikeouts through the first six O’Fallon hitters, but ran into trouble with two outs in the second. Platt, Matthew Arnold, and Braedon Stoakes drew three consecutive walks from Gasser, who saw his night end after throwing two balls to Maloney. Colin Hawkins entered the game and finished off the walk to Maloney to score the Hoots’s first run of the day, tying the game at one. A wild pitch to Harms led to another O’Fallon run before Beattie flew out to end the inning with his Hoots now up 2-1. 
• That lead wouldn’t last long however. With one out in the top of the third, Dominic Decker reached via error on Beattie, and that was followed up by a walk to Broekemeier. Tyler Imbach then sent a ball on a ride to deep right-center, driving in Decker and tying the game at two. Broekemeier then scored on a wild pitch to give Alton the lead back, 3-2. Following an O’Fallon pitching change, the Hoots used a double-play to end the inning. 
• The River Dragon lead would increase in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, Mattias Sessing drove in two runs with a single off of Braden Barnard, making the score 5-2. 
• O’Fallon would get one back in the bottom of the fifth, thanks in large part to a Maloney leadoff triple. Two batters later, Beattie grounded out to second, but did his job of moving Maloney 90 feet, knocking in his fourth RBI of the season to make the score 5-3. Next batter Meyer extended the inning with a double, and Politte kept it going with a walk. The two out rally ended though with a lineout from pinch hitter Angelo Luna.
• Mass continued a nice night in the leadoff spot to start the sixth, reaching on a walk and then swiping his third stolen base of the night. A single from Decker allowed Mass to cross homeplate for his second run of the night. Back-to-back strikeouts from Kaden Joggerst would end the inning, his Hoots now down 6-3.
• The seventh inning would bring with it O’Fallon offense. With one out, Beattie drew a walk, then advanced to third on a Meyer single. Politte hit a sacrifice fly to score Beattie, bringing the Hoots within two, 6-4. The inning ended when Meyer was caught stealing during the next batter. 
• With their lead down to two, Alton got to work in the top of the eight. Mass reached after new O’Fallon pitcher Tanner Mueller hit him with a pitch. Mueller also hit the next batter, Brayden Caskey, putting two on for Decker, who drove in Mass with an RBI single. Caskey, though, was thrown out at home trying to score on Mass’s hit. Imbach would eventually hit into a fielder’s choice, but it was good enough to score Decker. This would be the extent of the River Dragons’s damage in the eight, setting the score 8-4 in their favor. 
• Down by four, the Hoots gave the River Dragons a scare in the ninth. Beattie led things off with a bloop single into shallow left field, and, following a strikeout of Meyer, Politte reached on a hit-by-pitch. A walk to Luna loaded the bags, and Platt drove in one with an RBI fielder’s choice, bringing the score to 8-5 in favor of Alton. This is where the score would end up, as Arnold struck out to conclude the game. 

Up Next

Following an off-day Friday, the Hoots will be back in action this Saturday, June 3, taking on the River Dragons again, this time in Alton. First pitch is set for 6:35, and coverage of the contest can be found at ofallonhoots.com, as well as the team’s Twitter (@ofallonbaseball) and Instagram (ofallonhoots).