Mustangs dominate Outlaws in 9-1 win, earn third straight MINK League Championship

Jul. 31—On the backs of one of the best hitting performances in MINK League history from first baseman Jack Wagner, the St. Joseph Mustangs beat the Joplin Outlaws 11-1 in seven innings in the final game of the MINK League Championship Series on Saturday at Phil Welch.

For the third year in a row and for the eighth time since 2009, the Mustangs are MINK League champions.

Wagner, who finished the game with an unbelievable eight RBIs, said that his team had no doubt about their destiny after a slow start to the series.

"Losing game one, I think most teams kind of press right there but we weren't worried at all. (Phil Welch) is a tough place to win two times in a row," Wagner said. "Last night was a dogfight and we got it out, but we kind of knew from the jump that today was ours."

Wagner scored the first run of the day in the first inning, via sacrifice fly. He then connected for a two RBI single with the bases loaded in the fourth, a three RBI home run in the sixth and a two RBI walk-off single to win the game.

He commented on his historic performance.

"That's definitely one of the better games I've ever played in my life. Baseball's a weird game, once you're clicking it feels like everything you hit just goes," he said.

Mustangs manager Johnny Coy spoke on the role Wagner has played with the team this season.

"He's been our leader. The guys really attract to him, he's a guy that really gives off a lot of good energy and he's a huge clubhouse personality," he said. "Without him I don't think we win this whole thing.

Of course, Wagner wasn't the sole contributor to the team's dominant performance. Dylan Carey and Michael Paule also drove in runners on sacrifice flies, while Brady Holden and Noah Bodenhousen gave Wagner scoring ammunition by each getting on base in three of their four at bats.

But it was one of the youngest Mustangs players, Ty Hilsabeck, who made the biggest mark defensively. The first-year pitcher threw six of the seven innings, compiling four timely strikeouts while allowing just one run on six hits.

Coy said after the win that Hilsabeck's game would go down as one of the most clutch performances in Mustangs history.

"I came here when I was a kid and being able to be out here on the field is amazing," Hilsabeck said. "Towards the end of the season it seems like other teams start to ramp down, and we just ramped up."

It's been a remarkable three-year run for the Mustangs, and Coy made special note of just how integral St. Joseph is to the team's success.

"If there's 20 fans in the crowd, it's just any other summer ball program. We owe it to the fans one hundred percent," he said. "They show up every single night to come watch us and support us and they're why guys want to come back and play for us every single year."

In his own words, it's been a "circle of life moment" for first-year Mustangs owner Ky Turner. He took over for team founder Dan Gerson after having been with the program since the start, and now gets to bask in the glory of championship wins from a new perspective. He said it's been a lot of work, but his enthusiasm remains the same.

"I won't lie, I'm ready for a nap. But I wasn't ready to sleep tonight," "It's been a lot of fun. It's not just me, it's so many people on our staff and people who aren't on our staff. The players, the community, the business community, the season ticket holders. It goes on and on and on."

As for the future of the Mustangs, he sees no reason for their incredible run to end.

"I think we're gonna go for four. Eight-time champions sounds nice, until you hear nine, and then nine sounds pretty good, too."

Levi Smith can be reached at levi.smith@newspressnow.com.