Rallying Catfish come up clutch, knock off nearby O’Fallon in fiery finish

Cape's Lane Crowden makes a leaping throw to first during a Tuesday, June 18, 2024 game between the Cape Catfish and the Alton River Dragons at Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Cape defeated Alton, 8-6.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

In a thrilling finish to the road-trip opener, Cape clawed its way back from a big early deficit to knock off the O’Fallon Hoots on the road, winning 6-4 to keep its win streak alive.

Scoring six unanswered runs over the game’s final six innings, O’Fallon’s 4-0 lead after three innings was nullified through the double-edged sword that the Catfish brought late.

Some great work out of the bullpen, and with a huge rally in the ninth, Cape fought all the way back to grab the lead in the final frame and hold on for the win.

Led by another huge effort from the Southeast Missouri State standout, Brooks Kettering brought his rally cap to O’Fallon, Missouri, as the Catfish made a huge push after the initial punch from the Hoots.

Looking for a big result as the Catfish’s dreaded five-game road trip begins, the late response turned a miserable early scoreline into a thrilling finish and another winning feather in Cape’s hat.

Starting the year at just 4-9 a week ago, Cape’s winning ways have turned that record upside down, now with an impressive record of 9-10 after a huge rally to climb up the division ladder.

As it stands, the Catfish sit just half a game behind Alton for fourth in the South Division, finally with a chance to escape the divisional basement.

With any luck, this road trip could provide the spark Cape needs to make its last stand in the first half as the Prospect League’s second half rapidly approaches.

Rally Comes Through

Down four runs through the game’s first three innings, it wasn’t coming up Catfish early as the hosting Hoots had Cape’s number offensively.

But moving into the middle innings, the Catfish got a big spark as the freshman sensation Kettering drilled a two-run homer to cut the deficit in half.

Trailing by a run entering the ninth inning, Cape was down to its last chance to get back into this one, and Kettering again came up clutch.

With two on and none away, Kettering sent a line drive over the head of Hoots shortstop Justin Simard to tie the game at four-all.

After a walk drawn to load the bases, Lane Crowden came up and hit a two-run double down the line, past the first baseman and into right field.

In one inning, the Catfish went from down a score to firmly in front, and O’Fallon didn’t have a response in the ninth to combat this swift turnaround.

Aided by some clutch late defensive work, the Catfish led one of their greatest rallies of the season to keep the winning streak alive, now sitting at three in a row.

Getting a hot start to their road trip through the northwestern stretches of the Prospect League, the offense needed to get ahead late and made it happen, further exemplified the turnaround of this Cape team.

Bullpen Masterpiece

With a rough start from local Notre Dame standout Kameron Dohogne to start Wednesday’s matchup, surrendering four runs through the first three innings, the Catfish went to the bullpen.

As they have many times this year, the Catfish and coach Phil Butler leaned on the efforts of their stretch relievers to get them through six innings of play.

Between Bryce Kemper and Drew Wedgeworth, the Catfish ate four innings with just three hits allowed and no earned runs, getting out of a hot start from O’Fallon.

Each throwing two full innings, with Wedgeworth surrendering just one hit over a full two frames of action, Cape got through innings four to seven without any harm done.

Needing a spark to get back into the game, but the offense and the defense used some late-game swings to get back into the contest, and it worked flawlessly.

Coming in for the eighth inning, looking to continue the strides that Kemper and Wedgeworth made before him, Korey Bunselmeyer got out of a jam in the eighth to keep the streak alive.

After a ninth-inning rally to not just tie the game but grab the lead, Bunselmeyer got the nod to come back for the ninth, and he made it happen.

Getting the first two outs, Baden Hackworth, a Jackson alum in his own right, drew a two-out walk to give the Hoots some life, but Bunselmeyer quickly got the last out to put this one away.

Matching the same energy as the offense brought to the late game, the execution was everything you could ask for of the Catfish as they continued their winning ways, now winning five of the past six games.

Off To Springfield

For the first of four games against the Prospect League’s Northwest Division, Cape travels northeast to Springfield, Illinois, for a matchup against the Lucky Horseshoes.

The first of two games against the Springfield, the second coming Sunday, it should be a fairly bright matchup for Cape with all things considered.

As of Wednesday night, the Lucky Horseshoes sit at the bottom of the Northwest Division with a 4-13 record after a Wednesday victory against Danville.

Seemingly similar to where Cape stood a week ago, before the upstart Catfish shot up in the standings after a streaking homestand performance, it’s a matchup Cape will embrace.

Last year, the Lucky Horseshoes had Cape’s number with a 3-1 season record against the Catfish, with Cape grabbing just one game in the series, a 10-0 win at Capaha Field.

Dropping two in Springfield last summer, Cape has a chance to reverse that trend over the weekend as it prepares for two in the capital city of the Land of Lincoln.