Hoots Drop Winning Streak in Clinton

Four Hoots tally RBIs

Hitting the road for the first time since Sunday, July 16, the O’Fallon Hoots (RECORD) traveled to Clinton, Iowa, to face the Clinton LumberKings (RECORD) Friday night. The Hoots saw their six-game win streak snapped at the hands of the LumberKings with an 11-4 loss.

Inside the Box Score

• Maloy Heaghney, Tyler Ferguson, Jack Meyer, and Drew Mize recorded RBIs for the Hoots. 
• Tanner Mueller struck out four of the five batters he faced. 

How it Happened

• The home team struck first. With leadoff man Trevor Burkhart on second, Tate Gillen doubled to drive in Burkhart. Will MacLean then got a base hit, allowing Gillen to score and set the score at 2-0 in favor of Clinton. 
• Four more LumberKing runs came in the fourth. As Burkhart stood on second again, Gillen doubled once more to collect another RBI. MacLean added another RBI to his collection as well when he drove Gillen in with a double. Connor Giusti followed MacLean’s double up with a blast over the outfield wall, driving the score up to 6-0. 
• O’Fallon found their response in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded, Maloy Heaghney drew the Hoots’s third straight walk to push John Stallcup across home. Tyler Ferguson hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Cameron Hailstone. Finally, Jack Meyer singled to score another Hoots run, cutting Clinton’s lead down to 6-3.
• Clinton’s lead continued to disappear in the sixth. With two runners on, Drew Mize singled to plate Zach Beatty and brought the Hoots within two runs of the LumberKings. 
• As the Hoots sat right on their tail, Clinton was able to find some insurance runs in the seventh. With a runner in scoring position, Alex Diaz singled to increase the LumberKings’s lead to 7-3. Clinton then loaded the bags, and Burkhart drove in Diaz with a single. Gillen continued his fantastic day at the plate, driving in two runs with a single. Jeremy Figueroas capped off the LumberKings’s offense with a sac fly RBI, finalizing the score at 11-4. 

Up Next

The Hoots’s trip to Clinton is not done just yet. The two teams will face off one more time on Saturday, July 22, to conclude their regular season series. First pitch is set for 6:30 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).