Hounds wake up late for twinbill with Mt. Pleasant

MOUNT PLEASANT – It took the Fort Madison Bloodhounds 11 innings to shake off the weekend in a doubleheader with Mt. Pleasant on the road Monday. But when they did, they made things interesting.
The Hounds outscored Mt. Pleasant 10 to 5 over the final four innings of game two, but came up just short when Micheal Fuller’s liner to left was caught by Griffen Jones stranding the tying runs at first and third. The out left Fort Madison victims of a sweep at the hands of the Panthers.
Prior to those four innings Mt. Pleasant held Fort Madison scoreless in a 9-0 shut out in game 1 and through three innings of the second game before holding on for a 12-10 nightcap win.
“We came in here flat,” said Head Coach Albert Schinstock.
“We're staring at strike one. Saturday everybody was ready to swing the bats.”
The Hounds won both games at Indian Hills Saturday over Des Moines North and Centerville, but Schinstock said the approach was different for that game. He said the Hounds can’t come out the same way on Thursday and Friday when they host Keokuk and Washington in critical Southeast Conference play.
“I told them after the game they can’t come out flat against Washington or Keokuk because they're gonna walk away with the win, too.”
Fort Madison couldn’t get anything going in the first game managing just two hits as everything off the Bloodhound bats was directly at a Panther. While contrarily everything the Panthers hit was just out of reach of a Bloodhound.
Reece Huey had a no-out double in the top of the 7th, but was stranded at third after three straight groundouts from Stefan Berlett, Micheal Fuller, and Nolan Lamb. The only other hit was a single from senior Case Fraise.

Owen Huffman took the loss going 3 1/3 allowing seven runs, just four earned on four hits, while striking out five and walking four.  Brae Hill pitched 2 2/3 in relief giving up two more runs on two hits.
In the second game, the Panthers went up 7-0 after three innings, but the Hounds woke up a little in the fourth. Berlett doubled to left to open the top of the inning. Fuller leaned into a pitch as did Lamb to load the bases. Jay Ellison would then hit a bloop just out of the reach of Mt. Pleasant’s first baseman running out and right fielder coming in to score Eric Cornelis pinch running for Berlett. Fraise would ground into a double play scoring Fuller. Lamb would reach third on the play. Owen Boyer would work a walk in the next at bat and then Owen Weisinger found a gap in right center to drive in Lamb to cut the lead to 7-3 before a strike out ended the inning.
Mt. Pleasant would answer with four more runs in the bottom of the fourth to push the lead to 11-3 which is where it would stay until the sixth inning.
The Panther’s gave up a single and then three straight base on balls to score a run. After a strikeout with the bases loaded, Berlett would single to right to drive in a run and cut the lead to 11-5. Fuller would get plunked again plating a run, and then Lamb would drop a ball in front of Panther right fielder Ryan Helling that was misplayed allowing Berlett and Huffman to both score for an 11-8 game.
The Panthers would get out of the jam without any further damage in the sixth and add an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth for a 12-8 lead heading into the final inning.
Caden Rehm was struck in the arm, the eighth batter to be hit by a pitch in the second game, and Weisinger singled to put two men on to start the seventh. The two would move up on Huffman’s ground out to third. Karson Dixon would score on a wild pitch courtesy running and then Huey would drive in Weisinger for a 12-10 game with one out. Fort Madison had the heart of the lineup due, but Berlett would fan and Fuller would line out to end the game.
Weisinger and Berlett each had two hits in the second game. Lamb led with two RBI.
Huey took the loss going 2 1/3 allowing five hits and seven runs, four earned while fanning two. Owen Boyer and Rehm each pitched in relief.
Schinstock said Berlett had a solid night behind the plate, suiting up for both games.
Fort Madison falls to 2-5 in Southeast play and 7-11 overall. They are off until Thursday when they host Keokuk in a single game and then host Washington on Friday again in a single game, both with 7 p.m. start times. They host Central Lee on Saturday to complete a three-day, three-game homestand.