Pirates Baseball got the win they needed in the first game Sunday to earn a spot in this weekend's sub-region tournament. The Pirates dropped the other three games of the series with St. Louis Community College to finish with a 9-23 Region 16 record. That record is good for a 3-way tie for 7th in the final regular season region standings. Overall, the Pirates are now 15-35.
After 7-2 and 7-5 defeats on Saturday's Sophomore Day, the Pirates bounced back for a close 4-3 victory in the opener Sunday. Brandon Whitehead pitched 6.1 solid innings to get the victory and Lucas Hampton recorded his 4th save of the season. That save sets a new single season saves record for the Pirates and puts Hampton in a tie for the career saves mark (6). Offensively, it was a go-ahead 2 run homer by Enrique Madera in the bottom of the 6th inning that put the Pirates ahead for good. "The excitement in the dugout was tremendous when Madera hit that home run. We were able to carry that momentum to victory," commented assistant coach Tyler Hudlow.
The Pirates took a loss in the series finale 18-11.
Offensive standouts other than Madera for the weekend were Jared Fry and Connor Quick. Fry went 6-14 with 3 homers, 4 runs and 6 RBIs while Quick hit .467 for the weekend plus drove in 4 runs.
The Pirates have two regular season road games on the schedule before the sub-region. They travel to Indian Hills Community College on Monday and MCC-Longview on Tuesday.
