O’Conner Hero as Hoots Walk Off Lumberkings

DuMont, Ludwig, and Haeghney help O’Fallon win thriller

With the O’Fallon Hoots (2-6) welcoming the Clinton Lumberkings (5-4) to CarShield Field for the second time in as many days in front of the organization’s first ever sold out crowd, it would take extra innings for a victor to be decided. In a game featuring 19 total runs and 11 innings of play, Michael O’Conner turned into the night’s hero as his walk-off single in the 11th inning sealed the dramatic win for the Hoots, 10-9. 

Inside the Box Score

• Jack DuMont started the game for the Hoots and went 4.2 innings deep. He only allowed one earned run while also punching out five Lumberkings. 
• Tyson Ludwig collected two RBIs on the night while going 2-5 from the plate. Ludwig also crossed home plate twice. 
• Maloy Heaghney also had a multi-hit night, going 2-4. He scored one run while also driving in a run and drawing a walk. 
• The Hoots as a team batted .400 (6-15) with runners in scoring position. 

How it Happened

• The first sign of offense came in the bottom of the third. Tucker Platt led things off for the Hoots with a single up the middle before a Heaghney double off the right-field wall put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Following a Braedon Stoakes strike out, Ludwig collected his third RBI on a single that scored Platt, giving the Hoots a 1-0 lead. 
• Clinton would strike back in the very next half-inning. A leadoff walk to Trevor Burkhart allowed the Lumberkings’s designated hitter to steal second. Gavin Brzozowski singled to advance Burkhart to third. Next batter Max Holy struck out swinging, but a double steal from Burkhart and Brzozowski created enough chaos to allow Burkhart to score and tie the game 1-1. Brzozowski moved to third on an Alex Diaz groundout, then scored on a throwing error by Heaghney, giving Clinton a 2-1 lead. 
• O’Fallon struck back in the fifth. With one out, Clinton pitcher Sebastian Parchomenko issued two straight walks to Heaghney and Stoakes. Ludwig then added another RBI to his box score with a ground-rule double into left-field, scoring Heaghney and tying the game at two. After a walk to Nick Harms, Cade Turner came in to relieve Parchomenko and immediately gave up a RBI single to John Stallcup, which put the Hoots back in front 3-2. Turner then hit Michael Long with a pitch, bringing in another Hoots run, making the score 4-2. Zach Beatty finished off the scoring with an RBI fielder’s choice that scored Harms, setting the score at 5-2. 
• Clinton got one run back in the sixth. Brock Wollin reached base and advanced to second base on an error from Platt. Conner Giusti singled to advance Wollin one base, and then a Brandon Vlcko fielder’s choice allowed Wollin to score an unearned run and cut the deficit to two, 5-3. 
• The Lumberkings would cut the lead further in the top of the seventh. Burkhart walked to start the inning, stole second, then reached third on a wild pitch from new O’Fallon pitcher Coby Rogers. With a runner 90 feet away, all it took was a groundout to first from Brzozowski to score Burkhart and bring the score to 5-4.
• With two outs in the eighth, the Hoots would tag on an insurance run. Platt reached base due to an error and then swiped second base. A double by Heaghney allowed Platt to score the unearned run and increase the Hoots lead to 6-4. 
• Down to their final inning, Clinton’s rally kicked off with one out on the board. Brzozowski drew a walk, and Holy doubled to put two in scoring position. Diaz gathered his first hit of the night on a single to left field, scoring Brzozowski and pulling the Lumberkings within one. Then, with Clinton down to their final strike of the night, Wollin ripped a single up the middle to score Holy and knot the game up, 6-6. 
• After O’Fallon failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, the two teams headed to extra innings. Because of the extra inning rule, Lumberking Casen Neumann started the inning on second before a balk by Tanner Mueller moved Neumann to third. Then, with a pitch getting away from Hoots catcher Matthew Arnold, Neumann crossed home to give his team a 7-6 lead. That lead would grow to 8-6 when a wild pitch from Mueller ricocheted off the home plate umpire’s mask, giving pinch runner Turner Doran enough time to score. 
• In the bottom of the 10th, leadoff man Beatty roped a single to right field to score O’Conner. Beatty reached second on a wild pitch, and then moved to third on an Arnold groundout. Beatty finished his trip around the base paths due to a passed ball, tying the game once again, 8-8. 
• Burkhart started the 11th on second, then stole third before an out was recorded. A Holy single was enough to score Burkhart, and put Clinton on top, 9-8.
• Needing to score another run to keep the game alive, Ludwig kicked off the bottom of the 11th by reaching on a fielder’s choice that also advanced Stoakes to third. After Harms was walked to load the bags, Stallcup was nailed by a pitch to move all baserunners and tie the game at nine. With the bases still loaded, O’Conner proved to be hero, hitting a walk-off single to win the Hoots the game, 10-9.

Up Next

O’Fallon wraps up their three game homestand tomorrow, welcoming the Cape Catfish to CarShield for the second time this year. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m, and coverage can be found at ofallonhoots.com, as well as the team’s Twitter (@ofallonbaseball) and Instagram (ofallonhoots).