Hoots Sweep Doubleheader vs. Catfish

Arras dominant in game one win, Ferguson walks off game two

With the hunt for the Prairie Land Division second-half title heating up, the O’Fallon Hoots (RECORD), welcomed the first-half Champion Cape Catfish (RECORD) to CarShield Field for some doubleheader action. Hoots starter Noah Arras was nearly flawless in game one, securing the 6-1 victory. 

A back-and-forth battle between the Catfish and Hoots ends in walk-off fashion by Tyler Ferguson’s bottom of the seventh single, as the Hoots swept the series with a game two 10-9 victory.

Game One – Hoots Win 6-1

Inside the Box Score

• Jack Meyer hit his fifth home run of the season to drive in two runs. He collected one other hit as well.
• Zach Beatty went 2-3 at the plate while knocking in a pair of RBIs. 
• Noah Arras was excellent in his start, going 6.2 innings deep while not allowing an earned run and picking up his second win of the season.

How it Happened

• The lethal Cape offense struck in the first frame of play. Leadoff man Chris Hall reached base on a walk, before moving to second on an error from Hoots pitcher Noah Arras. A flyout advanced Hall to third, who then scored on an RBI single from Brody Chrisman, giving his squad an early 1-0 win.
• The Hoots were quick to respond in the bottom of the first. Like his Cape leadoff counterpart, Tyson Ludwig drew a walk to start the O’Fallon offense. He then swiped second before a Jack Meyer single struck Ludwig on third. Nick Harms drove Ludwig in with an RBI single, tying the game at 1-1. 
• O’Fallon struck again in the second. With one out, back-to-back hits from John Stallcup and Tucker Platt put them both in scoring position. Nine-hole hitter Zach Beatty knocked a double off the right-center field wall, scoring both base runners and giving the Hoots a 3-1 lead. The scoring did not stop there, however. An error from Cape’s second baseman let Maloy Heaghney reach first base and Beatty to score, increasing the lead to 4-1. Meyer capped off the inning with a two-run shot to right-center field, setting the Hoots’ lead to 6-1. 

Game Two – Hoots win 10-9

Inside The Box Score

• Tyler Ferguson walks off the ballgame; drives in four runs in total
• Jack Meyer and Ferguson each homered.
• Hoots’ offense collects 15 hits in the ballgame.

How it Happened

• Cape scored in the opening inning as Brody Chrisman grounded out to score Chris Hall from third base. The Catfish added another run on an RBI double from Lane Crowden, making it a 2-0 Cape lead.
• The Hoots answered in the bottom of the first inning with four runs scoring. Tucker Platt delivered an RBI double to score Zach Beatty for O’Fallons first run. The very next Hoots batter, Ferguson belted a three-run home run to put O’Fallon ahead 4-2.
• In the top of the fourth inning, Curry Sutherland brought the score to 4-3 as he hit a solo home run.
• The Catfish tied the game up in the top of the fifth inning on a sacrifice flyout from Crowden.
• The Hoots retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, Tyson Ludwig tripled to score Drew Mize to make it a 5-4 ballgame. O’fallon tacked on some insurance in the frame as Beatty grounded out to score Ludwig, followed up by a solo home run from Meyer, to push the Hoots lead to 7-4.
• Cape cut the lead to 7-6 in the top of the sixth inning. Kaden Jefferies hit a solo home run. Later in the inning, Justin Carinci hit an RBI single.
• Drew Mize added insurance for the Hoots with a solo home run to bring it to 8-6. Ludwig scored another run for the Hoots as he crossed home on a wild pitch, advancing the O’Fallon lead to 9-6.
• Down to their final outs, the Catfish tied the game up at 9-9 following a fielder’s choice RBI by Quinton Borders and RBI hits from Hall and Kevin McCarthy.
• In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ferguson delivered the walk-off single to sore Harms.

Up Next

The Hoots hit the road for a two-game road trip in Clinton, IA as they face the Clinton LumberKings, starting on Friday, July 21. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST. Coverage can be found at ofallonhoots.com, as well as the team’s Twitter (@ofallonbaseball) and Instagram (ofallonhoots).