The Catfish Reel.
Your Catfish Baseball News.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (June 8) – So far this season, the Catfish have enjoyed “blowout” wins in the majority of their games, winning most of them by 10 or more runs.

Thursday night was an exception as the Fish had to battle back from a three-run deficit at Capaha Park in order to claim their eighth consecutive win, defeating REX Baseball from Terre Haute, Indiana, 13-11.

Just as they had done in their previous seven games this season, the undefeated Catfish got off to an early lead, scoring five runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead.

The Fish batted around in the second, collecting six hits, including a two-run blast off the bat of designated hitter Kaden Jeffries from Metropolitan Community College.

Unfortunately, the game didn’t end after two innings and in the top of the third REX answered with six hits and five runs of their own. The Terre Haute squad manufactured a single, a stolen base, a throwing error on a pickoff attempt, and a ground out RBI by REX designated hitter Warren Bailey from Chowan University in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.

REX added two more runs in the fifth when their first baseman, Carter Murphy from Indiana State hit a two-run homer to left. The Catfish answered with one in the bottom of the fifth when first baseman Kolten Poorman hit a lead-off single, advanced to second on a balk by REX starter Connor Brady from Eastern Oklahoma State, stole third and scored on an RBI ground out by second baseman Kevin McCarthy from Tennessee Southern.

That made the score 8-6 in Terre Haute’s favor and it stayed that way until the seventh when Poorman led off with a single, advanced to second when the next batter, Kevin McCarthy from Tennessee Southern, grounded to REX second baseman Slater Schield from Indiana Southern. Schield’s throw to second in an attempt to force Poorman went wide and McCarthy was able to beat out the throw to first giving the Fish two runners with no outs. Pinch hitter Brody Chrisman (Purdue) doubled into the right field corner,

Two batters later, pinch hitter Justin Carinci from Eastern Kentucky singled on the first pitch he saw, driving in Chrisman and giving the Catfish a slim 9-8 lead.

The lead was short lived, though, as REX was able to score in the eighth inning without the benefit of a hit when Schield reached on a fielder’s choice, scrambled to third when a pickoff attempt by Catfish reliever Camron Lewis (West Virginia State) went wide of first baseman Poorman, and then scored on a wild pitch.

It would take some late-inning heroics for the Catfish to extend their winning streak to eight…and that’s just what they got. Right fielder Jeff Clarke (Belmont) led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk and Poorman, the next batter, was hit by a pitch. McCarthy then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to push Poorman and Clarke to second and third, respectively. Chrisman was intentionally walked to load the bases which catcher Landon Godsey cleared with a three-RBI double. He scored two batters later on a stand-up RBI triple by Carinci.

That gave the Catfish a four-run lead, 13-9, which seemed safe heading into the ninth inning. But REX didn’t go down quietly thanks to a one-out single by third baseman Jayden Lepper followed by a triple by first baseman Carther Murphy who scored when a relay throw to third dribbled into the REX dugout, making the score 13-11.

With the bases empty, Lewis struck out REX catcher Bryce Miller and then allowed a two-out single to left fielder Joe Hamilton before Terre Haute shortstop Jeremy Piakiewicz popped up to McCarthy to end the game.

Offensively, the Catfish picked up 17 hits, their second-highest hit total of the season, including three doubles, a triple and a home run, but defensively, the Catfish had five errors after only committing three in their previous seven games.

In their eight games so far this season, the Catfish have scored a total of 93 runs, an average of just over 11.6 runs a game.

The Catfish have a day off Friday before a weekend road trip to O’Fallon, Missouri, Saturday to play to Hoots followed by a game in Marion, Illinois, Sunday against the Thrillville Thrillbillies. The Fish return to Capaha Field Monday to take on the Thrillbillies in a 6:35 p.m. game. Tickets are available through the Catfish website, www.capecatfish.com.