It has been a month to forget for the Jefferson City Renegades.
Leading 7-0 after three innings in Sunday's MINK League regular-season finale against the Sedalia Bombers, the Renegades were positioned to snap a seven-game losing streak and increase their chances of making the playoffs.
But then the unthinkable happened.
"We've found so many ways to lose," said Renegades manager Mike DeMilia, whose team allowed eight unanswered runs and lost 8-7 to Sedalia at Vivion Field.
"We're cursed, but we also don't do everything we can to score runs and prevent runs."
Even with 16 losses in their last 18 games, the Renegades still have a chance to make the playoffs.
The Nevada Griffons, who hold a one-game lead against Jefferson City, play a doubleheader today at Joplin. With a win in either game, Nevada claims the third and final playoff spot in the South Division.
However, if Nevada loses both games, the Griffons and the Renegades would be tied with a 12-26 record. In the event of a tie, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head matchups, and the two teams split their six regular-season meetings. The next tiebreaker is record within the South Division. Jefferson City is 6-12 against division foes, while Nevada is 4-13.
With two Nevada losses today, Jefferson City would make the playoffs with the No. 3 seed in the MINK League South Division playoffs and play Tuesday at Joplin, the No. 2 seed.
"It's out of our hands now," DeMilia said.
In Sunday's finale, Lincoln Orellana put the Renegades ahead in the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to right-center field. The University of Hawaii signee led Jefferson City with five home runs this summer.
"It was hit well," DeMilia said. "It just kept going. This park gets that way, especially when it gets hot. It will carry to right-center."
In the third, the Renegades scored six runs while collecting just one hit.
In the inning, Jefferson City drew six walks and had one hit-batsman. Carter Mize and Dede Cole hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to extend the lead to 6-0.
With two outs, Sam Creed - the 10th batter of the inning - singled up the middle to score Gaven Strobel, making the score 7-0.
"That was a great inning," DeMilia said. "I thought we'd keep it rolling a little bit. We can't expect to score six runs in every inning, but I thought we'd be able to scratch three or four more out of that game."
However, starting in the fifth inning, Sedalia changed pitchers each inning the rest of the game. In total, the Bombers used eight pitchers, and the last six did not allow a run.
Helias graduate Josiah Imhoff pitched a scoreless eighth for Sedalia, allowing one hit and one walk while finishing with one strikeout.
"Their plan was to do that, (their coach) even told me they were going to throw five, six or seven guys," DeMilia said. "It makes it tough to adjust."
And then Sedalia mounted its comeback.
In the fourth, AJ Gardner scored on a wild pitch and Justin Randle hit an RBI double, closing the gap to 7-2.
In the sixth, Kyle Clayton hit a solo home run for the Bombers, making the score 7-3.
In the seventh, Gardner doubled his team's run total with a three-run home run to right field. Now it was a one-run game, with Jefferson City clinging to a 7-6 advantage.
During Sedalia's comeback, Jefferson City had runners on second and third base with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Renegades failed to score in the inning.
"To not score, that was huge," DeMilia said. "We had to score something there."
In the eighth, Alex Hoff tied the game with an RBI double and Brice Pannier scored from third on a groundout, giving Sedalia its first lead at 8-7.
The Renegades threw out a runner at the plate to end the top of the ninth, but the offense failed to score in the bottom half. The game ended when Cole popped up to the first baseman as rain began to pour at Vivion Field.
Christian Thrasher gave the Renegades five solid innings, but he ended up with a no-decision. He struck out seven and walked three while allowing two runs on four hits, throwing 97 pitches.
"That's the kind of guy Christian can be," DeMilia said. "He's got good stuff. He was really nasty tonight. It's unfortunate he didn't get a win out of that."
Mize had two of Jefferson City's six hits, batting 2-for-3 with a single and a ground-rule double.
The Renegades end the regular season with a 16-26 overall record, winning all four non-MINK League games.