The Jefferson City Renegades made a mess of a game they had put away by the start of the seventh inning but made a dramatic comeback Saturday night to beat the Clarinda A's 13-11 at Vivion Field in MINK League play.
The Renegades (2-2) led 10-4 at the start of the seventh inning, buoyed by nine runs scored with two outs. Mike Million hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the third, and finished 3-for-4 with three RBI, a walk, two singles, a stolen base and three runs scored. Tyler Bracht hit a double with the bases loaded in the first and finished 4-for-4 with three doubles and six RBI.
Million started the season 0-for-9.
"Going 0-for-9 and piecing up seven balls out of the nine, you can't really do anything about hitting it right at everybody," Million said. "So just keeping a positive attitude even though it's frustrating it helps."
Jefferson City jumped on reliever AJ Slaughter, who threw 12 straight balls after entering the game in the fourth inning with two away. He worked an 0-2 count on first baseman Quincy Jones with his 13th and 14th pitches, but Jones doubled off the fence in left-center to break the game open at 8-2.
All the while the A's (0-2) kept chipping away, and down 10-4 at the start of the seventh loaded the bases with nobody out. Sean Bergeron hit a grand slam to make it 10-8, and the A's added three more in the top of the eighth to storm all the way back and take an 11-10 lead.
But Million and Bracht, and the Renegades, refused to lose. Justin McIntyre singled to start the bottom of the eighth, Jones singled and went to second on the throw, and coach Mike DeMilia pinch-ran the speedy Christian Rodriguez for the 6-foot-7 Jones at second. Million lined the first pitch he saw up the middle and Rodriguez beat the throw to give Jefferson City the lead back, and Bracht came inches away from a home run but had to settle with a double off the top of the wall to send Million home.
"I'd say the biggest thing was pitch selection," Bracht said. "I was looking for the fastball and trying to get it early in the count and hit it hard. Hit it where it's pitched."
Matthew Wade threw six innings and gave up four runs on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks in 80 pitches. Ben Fugitt and Tommy Wahl struggled in their relief appearances but Jeremy Hidalgo, who pitched as William Woods' closer, earned the win in 1 innings of work. His sidearm delivery and movement helped him close out the game after Clarinda loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth.
"I usually attack with my fastball," Hidalgo said. "My slider wasn't working really tonight so I was trying to attack with the fastball and get ahead in counts."
The Renegades and A's wrap up the three-game series at 2 p.m. today.