AA Red Sox split with Harrisonville

By Jason Peake

Daily Mail Sports Editor

NEVADA -- Solid pitching and a couple of big innings lifted the Nevada Red Sox AA American Legion baseball team to a 14-4 run-rule victory over Harrisonville Post 42 on Wednesday night at Champion Diamonds Sports Complex in the first game of a doubleheader.

Harrisonville won the second game 5-3 to earn a split.

In the opener, Nevada's Taylor Manes and Kyler Cliffman gave up zero hits in the five-inning game.

"It was a combined no-hitter, so I'm really proud of how our pitchers threw," Red Sox Coach Jerrod Alexander said.

Harrisonville led 1-0 after a walk, a wild pitch, a balk and a groundout plated a run. The Red Sox scored eight runs on four hits, five walks and an error in the fourth for an 8-1 cushion. Manes, Taylor Highfill, Clay Regers and Brett Mitchell all had RBI singles during the big inning. Davin Weeks bunted home a run, while Means and Cliffman drew walks with the bases loaded. Highfill was hit by a pitch to drive in a run.

After cruising along, Manes hit one and walked two-straight in the fifth, and was replaced by Cliffman.

"Manes threw a lot of pitches so we got him out of there," Alexander said. "There's a lot of the season left."

Manes struck out seven in four and a third on the bump, using his curveball effectively.

Up 8-4, Nevada ended the game by scoring six runs in the fifth. The Red Sox drew six walks in the inning and were hit twice. Hunter Johnson, Andrew Heathman and Cliffman drove in runs, with two runs scoring on wild pitches and the final run coming when Weeks was drilled with a pitch.

Alexander said it was nice to see his team get the bats going, something they didn't do the night before against Carl Junction.

"We put pressure on them," Alexander said. "We made them throw strikes and make plays in the field. It was kind of the opposite of the other night."

In the second game, Nevada's miscues in the field proved to be the difference, as Post 42 rallied late to get the win.

"We have to do the little things right and we didn't do that," Alexander said of game two.

An RBI triple to center from Manes scored Tristan Smith and tied the game at 2 in the third.

Two Red Sox errors allowed Harrisonville to go up 3-2 in the fifth.

Nevada tied it up in the sixth. Cliffman and Regers hit back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners. The Red Sox tied the game when Regers took off from first. Harrisonville tagged out Regers at second, but Cliffman scored on the play.

Post 42 once again took advantage of Nevada's miscues in the seventh. With one out, an error, a single and a walk loaded the bases. A routine grounder then got through the right side, allowing two runs to score, giving Post 42 a 5-3 lead. In the bottom half, Heathman was hit by a pitch with two outs. On the next play, Smith was called out on a play at first, ending the game. The Red Sox did not agree with the call, but the game was over. Nevada's Tanner Handly threw well in the loss. The Red Sox are now 2-3-1 on the season and head to Joplin this weekend.