(ST. JOSEPH, MO) - It was a stressful way to finish but the Benton High School baseball team got it done in a 4-3 victory over Kearney to win the Pony Express Tournament Championship at Griffon Baseball Field on Missouri Western's campus.
The score was tied at 1-1 until the bottom of the sixth, with an RBI single from senior Treigh Nowak, a sac fly from senior Garrett Ferrell and an RBI single from Carson Schmidt gave Benton a 4-1 lead. Schmidt finished 2-for-4 at the plate with 2 RBI.
But Kearney would not go quietly, as the Bulldogs put across 2 runs in the top of the 7th. The tying run was on second but junior Chris Coy, the Kansas Jayhawks baseball commit, pitched a complete game and ended the contest with a massive strikeout for the Cardinals, clinching the win for Benton.
"The guys are just tough, man. They're just a tough group of kids that have been together for a long time, and they just don't quit," said head coach Johnny Coy. "We were either going to win the game with Chris (Coy) on the mound or lose the game. They're going to figure out ways to win games in crunch time, and that's a good thing to have about a team when you can win close games against good teams. Our guys are still taking it day by day, we have an off day tomorrow, and we'll be back at it on Friday, We just enjoy being around each other and enjoy playing a game of baseball, and that's what it's all about."
Benton improves to 18-3 on the season and currently has a 6 game winning streak, Cardinals next host Maryville on Monday, April 22nd.
