GREENCASTLE BASEBALL SECTIONAL: Clovers scratch out late runs to overcome Mullin, Eagles

It is not very often that a team picks up only one hit in a game and still wins the game.

Cloverdale was able to scratch out a pair of late-inning runs to defeat the South Putnam Eagles, 2-1, in the Class 2A Sectional 44 opener for both teams at Greencastle Wednesday evening.

The Eagles’ Wyatt Mullin no-hit the Clovers through six innings, but the opportunistic Clovers picked up a run off of Mullin in the sixth as an error led to the run and another error in the seventh inning gave them the win to advance.

The Clovers improved to 9-10 and will play Parke Heritage in the semifinals on Monday, while the Eagles’ season ended with a 2-14 record.

“How do you win a game without getting a hit! Well, we got one late, but (Mullin) pitched a great game, and we took advantage after he had to go out of the game,” Cloverdale head coach Charlie Lee said referring to Mullin exceeding the pitch count after six innings.

Cloverdale threatened in the bottom of the first as Mullin walked the bases loaded with two outs but struck out the next batter to end the threat. No one scored in the second inning either.

South would take a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Ashton Nichols walked, and Kyle Glasson singled with one out. Hayden Tincher would hit a ball that saw Glasson out at second base, but Nichols ended up at third and Drew Cline singled him home for the first run of the game.

Mullin and his counterpart Drake Hoffa battled on the mound, throwing scoreless frame after scoreless frame on the board as neither team would threaten to score until the sixth inning.

Cloverdale’s Landon Duncan opened the inning reaching base on an error and would race around to third on the throw. Hoffa would help himself by getting a sacrifice fly to bring Duncan to the plate and tie the score at 1-1 as Mullin would escape the inning without giving up a hit, but he crossed the 120-pitch threshold for high school pitchers during the last batter of the inning.

The Eagle hurler finished with a stat line of zero hits, zero earned runs, 13 strikeouts and eight walks.

“He is our number one (pitcher) and a great leader for us,” South Putnam’s Kurt Kyle said.

Hoffa was almost as dominant on the night for Cloverdale. He fanned the final three batters in the top of the seventh inning as he pitched all seven innings, giving up just four hits and one run while striking out 10 Eagles.

“Drake really threw well. He does that for us. He was terrific and kept us in the game,” Lee said.

Layton Allen led off the bottom of the seventh by picking up the first Clover hit with a single. Caiden Watts laid down an attempted sacrifice bunt, but the Eagles overthrew first base and Allen raced around the bases to score the winning run in walk-off fashion.

The Clovers will take on Parke Heritage in the opener of the semifinals on Monday.

“We are going to have to swing the bat a whole lot better on Monday if we want a chance to win that game,” Lee said as Cloverdale looks to defend their sectional title from last year.

South Putnam 001 000 0 — 1 4 2

Cloverdale 000 001 1 — 2 1 1

WP – Hoffa 7.0, LP Mullin 6.0, Cline 0.0

RBI – Hoffa (CHS), Cline (SP)