Hoots Drop Shortened Game to Normal

Long continues hot streak with three RBIs

The O’Fallon Hoots (18-20, 3-8) wrapped up a three game series against the Normal CornBelters (20-19, 5-7) Friday night. Normal took a 10-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth when the game was called due to inclement weather, securing their win over O’Fallon.

Inside the Box Score

• Michael Long drove in all three RBIs for the Hoots.
• Long, Nick Harms, and Jake Vitale collected extra-base hits. 
• Kaden Joggerst struck out five of the six batters he faced in his two hitless innings of work. 

How it Happened

• After having their bats stifled the night before, Normal wasted little time scoring. With two runners in scoring position in the first inning, Timmy O’Brien knocked a hit off the glove of Maloy Heaghney to drive in two runs and give his squad a 2-0 lead. 
• The Hoots cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first. Nick Harms hit a one-out double and then advanced to third on a single from Jack Meyer. Michael Long then sent a ball deep into center field where it was caught, but it gave Harms enough time to tag up and score O’Fallon’s first run of the day, making it 2-1. 
• Normal boosted their lead in the top of the third. The first batter, Clay Conn, launched a ball over the short wall in right field, making the score 3-1. Then, with runners at second and third, Hoots starter Matt Haley threw a wild pitch, allowing Case Sanderson to score and up the lead to 4-1. 
• Another CornBelter run came in the fourth. With the bags loaded and nobody out, Conn reached on a fielder’s choice and drove in Tyler Bickers, setting the score at 5-1 in favor of Normal. 
• The Normal offense stayed hot in the fifth. Sanderson led off by being hit by a pitch and eventually worked his way to third via steal. A double steal from Sanderson and Peyton Dillingham caused enough chaos for Sanderson to snag home base and score Normal’s sixth run of the night. 
• In the bottom of the fifth, the Hoots’s bats came alive. Drew Mize reached first on an infield single and then moved to second when Heaghney hit into a fielder’s choice and reached safely as well. Those two then advanced on a passed ball, and a walk to Tyson Ludwig loaded the bags. A wild pitch allowed Mize to come home and score while Heaghney moved to third. Meyer hit into an error, reaching first while Heaghney scored. Finally, Long doubled to drive both Ludwig and Meyer in and cut the lead down to one, 6-5. 
• Seeing their lead shrink down to one, Tyler Castro did his part to get some runs back, hitting a solo shot over the high wall in right field, jacking the score up to 7-5. 
• In the top of the seventh, with CornBelter runners at every base, Hoots pitcher Drew Politte plunked Castro to drive one run in. Sanderson then continued his fantastic night at the plate, plating two runs with a single and setting the score at 10-5.
• Unfortunately, the game was called before an out was recorded in the bottom of ninth due to rainfall, ending the contest as a 10-5 victory in favor of the CornBelters. 

Up Next

The homestand for the Hoots ends tomorrow with a doubleheader against the Alton River Dragons. Game one is set for 5:35 p.m. CST, and coverage for the contest can be found at ofallonhoots.com, as well as the team’s Twitter (@ofallonbaseball) and Instagram (ofallonhoots).