Game-ending balk sends Outlaws past Bombers

Jul. 15—It wasn't necessarily the most climactic win of the season, but head coach Gonzalo Gonzalez and his Joplin Outlaws were more than happy to take it.

"Any way you can get the job done," Gonzalez said. "The win is what matters at the end of the day."

It was a game-ending pitching balk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning that plated a go-ahead run to lift the Outlaws to a pivotal 6-5 victory over the Sedalia Bombers on Thursday night at Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin.

The triumph lifted Joplin (18-18) to .500 on the season and allowed it to leapfrog Sedalia (17-18) for the top spot in the MINK League South Division standings. The Outlaws hold a 1/2-game lead over the Bombers with eight contests remaining on the regular-season schedule.

"This is obviously an important win against a team like Sedalia," Gonzalez said. "They're coached by a great guy (Craig McAndrews) and they play the game the right way. So to be able to take a game from them like this is big for us."

Joplin claimed a third consecutive victory in response to a four-game skid it suffered earlier this month.

"We've been playing decent baseball all year long," Gonzalez said. "Every now and then we just get a lot of mental lapses that bite us. But to see these guys come together over the last couple of days, they've played hard and smart. They're playing better defense and doing things the right way, and it's all starting to come together for us."

The Outlaws held a 5-4 lead heading into the ninth inning before the Bombers tied the score with a two-out RBI single on a blooper hit to shallow centerfield by Nick Schmidt.

Max Bruff got the Outlaws started in the bottom of the ninth with a one-out single to left field. After Carson Carpenter entered to pinch run for Bruff, Carpenter stole second and then took third on an errant throw.

Sedalia recorded its second out of the inning before closer Jake Lufft was called for a balk, allowing Carpenter to advance home for the game-winning run.

Joplin outhit Sedalia 8-6 in the game and was paced by Bruff, who finished 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBI. Caden Bressler and Matt Campbell tallied two hits apiece and both crossed home plate once.

The Outlaws broke a scoreless stalemate in the bottom of the fourth when Bruff belted a two-run home run off of Peyton Messer. The homer also plated Liam Bailey, who led off the frame with a walk.

Sedalia trimmed the deficit in half in the bottom of the fifth by plating a run on a couple of hits. A triple by Will Menendez set up an RBI sacrifice fly by Zach Dillman to make it a 2-1 ballgame.

The Outlaws got that run back in their half of the fifth thanks to an RBI sacrifice fly by Bruff that plated Bressler, who reached on an infield single before advancing to second on a Sedalia error and then third on a groundout by Bailey. Then with two outs in the frame, Tyler Davis logged a two-run single to center field to balloon the Joplin lead to its largest of the night, 5-1.

The Bombers wouldn't go away easily, however.

Sedalia responded in the top of the sixth with three runs off one hit and three walks. A two-run single to centerfield by Dillman made it a 5-3 score before Adam Webb crossed home plate on a wild pitch to trim the deficit back to one.

Despite threat after threat posed by Sedalia throughout the night, the Outlaws never surrendered a lead.

"These guys have heart," Gonzalez said. "We always talk about how summer ball can be a grind at times, but these guys want to stay and keep battling. It's pretty cool to watch a team in summer baseball come together the way these guys have. They love each other and play for each other, and they win it all."

Closer Justin Schrader picked up the win for Joplin after limiting Sedalia to one earned run and two hits in 1 1/3 innings. Starter A.J. Moreno tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out six batters, while Casey Thibault, Cameron Hill and Cole White each tossed in middle relief.

Gonzalez credited White for coming on in the sixth inning to limit the damage after Sedalia had plated two runs earlier in the frame. White surrendered no earned runs and just one hit while striking out a pair in 2 1/3 innings of work.

"He held it together there in the sixth inning when he came in because it could have easily imploded for us," Gonzalez said of White. "So big heart for that kid and I'm glad to have him."

The Outlaws will plays host to the Nevada Griffons on Friday night at 7 inside Joe Becker Stadium.

Contact Jared Porter on Twitter at @JaredRyanPorter.