Wildcats slide by Nevada in the seventh

Nevada sophomore Cody Thompson delivers a pitch during Tuesday's game against Harrisonville at Lyons Stadium. Thompson pitched well giving up only four earned runs in seven innings but still was saddled with a 7-6 loss. Thompson helped his cause by going 4-for-4 at the plate.

By Joe Warren

Nevada Daily Mail

The old saying goes, "If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all."

The Nevada Tigers can certainly identify with that statement.

Nevada had a series of close plays go against them as the visiting Harrisonville Wildcats overcame a 4-0 deficit Tuesday to beat the Tigers 6-5, handing Nevada their third straight one-run loss.

Two big Wildcat swings, a slightly foul line drive, a soft spot in the grass, a throw just inches from the target, a play at the plate and three consecutive inning-ending double plays all played a part in the Tigers demise Tuesday at Lyons Stadium.

The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after three consecutive doubles by Heath Baker, Keith Overton and Cody Thompson, a ground out and a single.

It was a lead Nevada held until the top of the third when Harrisonville's Tyson Travis hit a two-run homer just clearing the left-field fence to make it 4-2.

Nevada had missed a golden scoring opportunity in the bottom of the second when a two-out double by Overton was followed by a single to right field by Thompson.

Overton tried to score from second base on the single but a perfect throw from the right fielder beat the Tiger catcher to the plate and Nevada was turned away.

On the mound Thompson was cruising, giving up only the one home run in the first four innings.

In the bottom of the fourth it looked like Nevada would add to their lead when Chris Eador and Brett Clark singled. With only one out Baker came up to the plate, but he hit a sharp grounder to second that turned into a 4-6-3 double play, ending the inning and keeping Harrisonville close.

In the top of the fifth inning Thompson ran into a little trouble.

After getting the leadoff hitter to ground out to third, Thompson induced another ground ball to the hot corner that Kevin Post handled cleanly. Post threw to first but barely pulled first baseman Brett Clark off the bag. After a single put runners on first and second, Thompson got a lazy fly ball to right for the second out.

A 1-0 pitch was then crushed over the left-center field fence for a three-run shot, giving Harrisonville a 5-4 lead.

Because of the error none of the three runs were earned by Thompson, but they still counted on the scoreboard.

Nevada had a walk and a single to lead off the bottom of the fifth, but a pickoff and a double play kept Harrisonville up by one.

Nevada tied the game in the sixth and looked as if they would regain the lead.

Justin Reed doubled to start the inning. After David Hawks struck out, Ronnie Herda drew a walk.

Reed and Herda both moved up a base on a wild pitch, giving the Tigers two runners in scoring position with one out.

Jordan Kerbs walked to load the bases, and Brett Clark had an infield single to score Reed and keep the bases full.

Baker again hit a hard grounder, this time to third base, and it started a 5-2-3 double play to end the threat.

With the score tied at five, the Wildcats manufactured a run in the top of the seventh.

With a single and a stolen base to lead off the inning, Harrisonville had a runner on second with nobody out.

Thompson got a fly out to center as Baker made a nice over-the-shoulder catch battling a wind that was blowing out.

On the play the Wildcat baserunner tagged up and went to third, but it appeared as if he left before the catch was made.

Baker threw the ball in and the Tigers appealed at second base to no avail.

The next hitter popped up to shallow right and Kerbs made the routine catch, knowing the runner would likely be tagging up from third.

The Wildcat baserunner broke for home and Kerbs unleashed a laser to the plate. The ball looked as if it would take one hop and get to the plate just about when the runner did.

However, with the recent rains the infield was fairly moist, and when the ball hit the grass it died, slowing considerably and allowing the runner to score to give Harrisonville the 6-5 advantage.

The Tigers had one last chance in the bottom of the seventh inning when Thompson singled with one out (his fourth hit of the game). Reed sacrificed him over to second and with two outs Post was at the plate.

Post had gone 2-for-3 to that point with a couple of hard hit balls that included a double off the right-center field fence.

Post was all over the first pitch, turning on an inside fastball and driving it down the left-field line. The ball hooked foul by about a foot, and two pitches later Post popped up to the shortstop to end the game.

The loss came on the heels of two losses to Parsons (Kan.) Monday by scores of 12-11 and 9-8.

"That's tough," Nevada coach Jared Brown said after the game. "You have to give credit to them, they're a good ballclub."

Brown said the close losses are part of baseball.

"That's just the way baseball is," he said. "One inch on the foul line, one inch on a pick off move and we come out with a different outcome in the ball game. These kids are playing their guts out right now."

Brown said the close games now should help Nevada down the road.

"We're going to have an advantage over other teams because we'll have been there before (in close games)," he said.

Nevada is now 2-9 this season, Harrisonville is 6-3.