The game was in doubt for an inning, and then the Monett Cubs took care of business.
Thanks to an eight-run outburst in the second and third innings, and the left arm of starter Cameron Witt, the Cubs run-ruled Ash Grove, 10-0, in five innings.
Zach Burgherr was two-for-four with two runs driven in, and Brady Wright added two more hits, but it was Witt who controlled the game from the first pitch, often working backwards, getting ahead with a devastating slider and finishing hitters off with his fastball.
“I did a really good job of getting ahead early and really mixing in my pitches, not getting comfortable when I got two strikes,” Witt said. “I worked around the zone a lot, really did a good job mixing up pitches.”
The Cubs led 8-0 after three innings, and, up 9-0 in the fifth, walked off with the win when Burgherr scampered home after an errant throw to third sailed into left field.
“We started getting really aggressive on the base paths, got some good pitches to hit, hit some line drives and made some things happen,” said Monett head coach Michael Calhoun. “It was just kind of the kids getting relaxed. I thought overall, all day, we swung the bat real well.”
Witt kept those bats swinging. Ash Grove did not have a runner advance past first base until the fourth inning, and Witt faced more than four hitters in an inning only once.
“It was really just, ‘Get the boys back in the dugout and keep them hitting,’” Witt said of his mindset. “I don’t want to have a good inning on offense and then have them stand out there on defense for a long time, so I really just wanted to pump the zone and get them back on offense.”
Witt went the distance, giving up just three hits and striking out six.
“Today he was able to locate his fastball, his slider,” Calhoun said. “[He] threw very well [and] kept us out of any bad innings because he threw lots of strikes. We played well defensively behind him.”
After a scoreless first, Blake Moore brought in the first run, scoring Ian Meyer on a grounder to short. The Cubs would add two more in the frame, and explode for five more in the third on four hits and two walks.
“It just shows what we’re capable of doing,” Witt said. “We’re still kind of trying to find our identity. We’re playing really well, but obviously nowhere near where we want to be playing at the end of the season, so it’s really exciting to just to see the potential we have on this team.”
The Cubs will face a real challenge in the coming week, with games at Bolivar and at Webb City.
“We’ve played real well up to this point,” Calhoun said. “We have five real tough ballgames next week, we’ve played four, so I’m looking forward to it.”
