Osborne, Renegades shut out Sedalia

The Jefferson City Renegades put it all together on Friday night.

"It was just a complete game," Renegades head coach Mike DeMilia said after his team polished off a 7-0 shutout of the Sedalia Bombers. "To shut them out, played really good defense and competed really well at the plate."

Southern Boone grad Ethan Osborne threw seven strong innings, striking out nine, allowing two hits and one walk, and Blair Oaks grad Colton Hoelscher did not allow a hit in two innings of relief, striking out three.

Hamilton Anderson continued his hot hitting for the Renegades. After hitting two home runs in Jefferson City's 6-5 win against St. Joseph on Wednesday, including a walk-off blast in extra innings, he was a triple short of the cycle Friday and drove in five runs.

Osborne set down the first eight batters of the game before a two-out double in the third, and then allowed just one other Bomber to touch second base all night, which came in the sixth on a two-base error.

"I was really commanding well, which is obviously always nice, but I was really hitting my spot on the outside corner," Osborne said after the game. "Especially against those lefties it's hard for them to chase it, so that really helped me."

The win moved the Renegades (7-5) into a tie with Joplin for first place in the MINK League's South Division. Sedalia (6-5) entered the day leading the MINK South.

It was a pitching duel to start, as Sedalia's Antonio Escano struck out six of the first nine batters he faced and stranded six runners through the first two innings.

"A week ago, he dominated us, and I think that we tried to do a little bit less at the plate," DeMilia said. "I think more of the guys were focused on hitting the ball up the middle, not trying to over-swing, because when a guy with stuff that good, if you get big and you try to do too much, he's gonna carve you up."

Escano had nine punchouts through two turns of the Renegades lineup. But patience, and then aggression, paid off against him. Carter Mize drew a one-out walk in the fifth on four pitches, the bat never leaving his shoulder. Then Anderson dug in and swung at Escano's first offering, crushing it over the fence in right field to give the Renegades a 2-0 lead.

"Hamilton is really seeing it well," DeMilia said. "He comes up with that big swing there, that kind of took the pressure off us a little bit."

At almost the same moment the fifth inning ended, the lights at Vivion Field cut out. After about a 20-minute delay, they powered back on and the game continued. Osborne said the delay didn't mess with him too much.

"I can say I've never dealt with that before," Osborne said. "It was interesting. I just tried to stay loose, you can't prepare for that."

Jefferson City alum Dawson Schuemann started off the sixth with a single for the Renegades, moved up on a passed ball and scored on a laser single to short off the bat of catcher Ale Claro. Caden Diel followed with a walk, Brady Voss was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Mize followed with an RBI groundout to first.

Anderson worked a 3-2 count with two down and two in scoring position, and roped a pitch into the gap in right-center to make it 6-0 Renegades.

"He's got really good power, as you can see," DeMilia said.

In the eighth, after Voss walked and Mize doubled, Anderson beat out an infield single to give him five RBI on the night.

Friday's game was the first of five straight for the Renegades. Jefferson City hosts Chillicothe tonight at 7 p.m. and hosts Joplin at 7 p.m. Sunday for Fathers Day. The Renegades play at Sedalia on Monday and host Joplin again on Tuesday.

"Sedalia's always really good, so it's a huge confidence-builder for us and hopefully we can keep the momentum going," DeMilia said. "