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Sikeston baseball team uses patience and big hits to rout Farmington 13-2
SIKESTON -- Against a Farmington team that struggled to find the strike zone, the Sikeston baseball team stayed patient and struck when the opportunity allowed during their 13-2 win at VFW Memorial Stadium on Wednesday.
Sikeston had just three hits -- one of which was their second grand slam in as many days -- but took advantage of 12 walks and four hit batters between four different Farmington pitchers through five innings.
"We wanted to be selectively aggressive," Sikeston coach Brett Kolons said. "We didn't have a whole lot of hits today but the balls that we put into play were hit with authority and that's what we're looking for."
Of Sikeston's three hits, two of them were for extra bases. The biggest blast of the day was off the bat of Trey Smith who sent a delivery from Farmington starter Brandon Winder the opposite way into right field for a grand slam in the second inning to make it 5-1.
"My approach was to just take it the other way, square the ball and hope for the best," Smith said. "That's really the theme of the whole dugout."
It was Sikeston's second grand slam in as many days following Wyatt Pratt's homer on Tuesday against Poplar Bluff. It was also Smith's fourth of the year and 10th for a Sikeston squad that had just one home run all of last season.
"A lot of us guys have taken it upon ourselves after practice to take a few extra cuts and I think that's what it is," Smith said about Sikeston's uptick in power. "We've swung the bats really well this year and I'm proud of everybody so far."
Sikeston (5-2) added a run in the third after Sam Cox led off the inning with a double. After a wild pitch and a balk, Cox trotted across home plate to make it 6-1.
The Bulldogs put the game away in the fourth inning with seven runs on just one hit while Farmington's pitching woes shone through the most.
A total of three pitchers worked the mound in the fourth for the Knights (5-4). Garrett Anderson, Drew Lynch and Connor Yordy combined for five walks and four hit batters in the inning and all nine of their free passes led to runs.
"That's just goes into our approach that we have as a team," Kolons said. "We want to be selectively aggressive, but we want to be very aggressive to the pitch we're looking for."
Sikeston's seven-run inning put them ahead 13-2 giving starting pitcher Wyatt Pratt more than enough wiggle room to finish out the day.
Pratt pitched all five innings giving up two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five on 70 pitches.
"It seems like when he's on the mound the attitude that he brings is infectious," Kolons said. "It comes through and effects the whole team."
This was Sikeston's third win in four games and Kolons believes it was the most complete one yet.
"I think this is the closest we've come to putting together a complete game," Kolons said. "In the past, we've done one thing well or a few things well but today what really stood out was our focus throughout the entire game. It was much better."
The Bulldogs will be on the road on Friday to take on SEMO Conference rival Cape Central at 4 p.m. This game was originally scheduled for March 30 but was postponed due to rain.
Farmington 100 00 -- 2 4 1
Sikeston 051 7x -- 13 3 0
WP -- Wyatt Pratt. LP -- Brandon Winder. 2B -- Gunner LaBrot (F), Sam Cox (S). HR -- Trey Smith (S). Multiple hitters: Farmington -- LaBrot 2-2.