Outlaws upend Renegades to capture first MINK South title

Derek Shore, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·4 min read

Jul. 27—The monkey is now off the back of the Joplin Outlaws.

It took 13 years, but Joplin defeated the Jefferson City Renegades 4-2 to capture its first MINK League South Division title in history on Tuesday night in front of a large crowd at Joe Becker Stadium.

"To be able to do this for the city of Joplin, it feels phenomenal," Joplin manager Gonzalo Gonzalez said. "This crowd and this city has supported us all the way through the season. To be able to do it for them, it really means a lot."

Joplin third baseman Carson Johnson, who grew up watching the Outlaws from nearby Carl Junction, said winning the division title felt amazing.

"All of us started talking about it before the game even started in the locker room," Johnson said. "We all had the same idea that we were all going to come out here and play baseball and have a good time regardless of the outcome. You can really tell how far we've come from the start of the season. It's just amazing. The atmosphere tonight was awesome."

The Outlaws, co-founded by general manager Mark Rains in 2009, elevated their season record to 24-21. Joplin will play host to the St. Joseph Mustangs, a 5-2 winner over Clarinda for the North title, at 7 p.m. Thursday in the opener of a best-of-three game series for the MINK championship.

St. Joseph, improving to 35-14, will host Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) to close out the championship series.

Both squads were locked in a tight pitcher's duel early on. A.J. Moreno (Joplin) and Braden Maltbie (Jefferson City) matched each other with four shutout innings to start.

But the Outlaws' bats woke up in the bottom of the fifth. Tyler Davis collected a one out single and came across on an RBI one-bagger from Johnson after advancing to second on a balk.

"I was just looking for a fastball in the zone," Johnson said. "That's always what coach (Austin) Bonnel wants us to do. Just jump on whatever you can get. The pitch came in and I put a good swing on it. It was pretty cool."

Joplin tacked on three more runs in the sixth — all off a three-run bomb from Jakob Machuca — to stretch the advantage to 4-0.

"I've been watching 'Chuca' do that for the last two years at Southern Arkansas and when he played for me at Fort Scott," Gonzalez said. "When that guy starts hitting, it's going to be tough to get him out."

Caden Bressler led off the frame with a single, while Joe Ricchio was plunked to set the stage for Machuca's blast.

The Renegades trimmed the deficit in half with two runs in the top of the seventh. Cole Wagner got Jefferson City on the board with an RBI single before later scoring on a wild pitch.

But Edrian Rangel, who took over for Moreno in the seventh, yielded a groundout to second base to limit the damage for the Outlaws.

Rangel dodged trouble again in the eighth and passed the ball to lefty Justin Schrader, who slammed the door with two punchouts to earn the save in the ninth.

Moreno fired six shutout frames to set the tone for Joplin. The righty struck out three batters and walked two.

"(A.J.) was unreal," Gonzalez said. "He kept the pitch count low (81), even in that third inning when he got into trouble with the bases loaded. He punched out two guys and got a popup. That just shows the maturity he has as a pitcher and his ability to throw everything for a strike. I'm telling you, man, that guy is one to watch for the future."

The Outlaws were outhit 11-5. Davis paced Joplin's offensive attack with two knocks.

"It took a full-team effort," Gonzalez said. "Our offense didn't give up. We started out slow, but we started adjusting to the off speed later on. That's what allowed us to come out with the win."

Maltbie took the loss for Jefferson City. He surrendered four runs on five hits in six innings while fanning four and walking one.

Xander Lovin struck out three batters over two scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the Renegades.

Adonis Forte led Jefferson City's offense by going 4 for 5 with a double and a run scored. Ruether added a pair of hits.

"Jeff City is a class-act team over there," Gonzalez said. "Mike (DeMilia) does a great job. They're tenacious. They're hard to put away. There's a reason why they made it this far."