Houchens and Earley combine for 10 RBIs as St. Joseph-Ogden shuts out Mt. Zion 11-0 in five innings.
ST. JOSEPH - Bryson Houchens and Nolan Earley each drove in five runs as St. Joseph-Ogden overwhelmed Mt. Zion 11-0 in five innings on Wednesday in a dominant all-around home performance.
The Spartans struck early and never let up, scoring in every inning and ending the game via the mercy rule after a two-run blast from Houchens in the fifth. Houchens finished 3-for-3 with two singles and a home run to left, while Earley’s three-run shot in the fourth broke the game open at 9-0.
Pruemer, a right-hander, silenced Mt. Zion’s bats over five efficient innings, allowing just one hit, striking out eight and walking one. He faced only two batters over the minimum and got plenty of run support as SJO piled up 11 hits and stole four bases.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Nolan Earley hits an in-field fly during SJO's home game against Westfield. The senior collected 5 RBIs at Meier Field against visiting Mt. Zion.
The tone was set in the first inning when Houchens drove in two runs with a single and Earley followed with a run-scoring double. A bases-loaded walk to Will Haley in the second extended the lead, and Earley’s sac fly in the third made it 5-0.
SJO tacked on four more in the fourth behind a string of hits, including an RBI single by Houchens and Earley’s towering three-run homer. Houchens capped his big day with a no-doubt shot over the left field fence in the fifth.
Haley, Jared Altenbaumer and Earley each recorded two hits for the Spartans. On the bases, Haley, Kody McKinney, Logan Rosenthal and Coy Taylor all swiped extra bags. Defensively, the Spartans played a clean game, committing no errors. Haley led the way in the field with eight chances at his position.
Mt. Zion’s lone hit came from Jackson Beiler, who went 1-for-2. Starting pitcher Andrew Tay took the loss, yielding eight runs on seven hits over 3-1/3 innings with four walks and three strikeouts.
St. Joseph-Ogden improves to 30-2 and will travel to Mattoon on Thursday as they continue their push through the regular season.
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