FARMINGTON – The Midland Southwest Bulls rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on their way to an 8-5 win Friday night at Ricketts Park, forcing an elimination game between those same teams on the closing weekend of the Connie Mack World Series.
Luke Hamm drove in a pair of runs in the sixth inning, giving the Bulls the lead after trailing by as many as four runs early in the contest. Carter Alderson scored three runs and went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double.
The win means the Bulls and Dodgers will play again on Friday night, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s CMWS title game against the Southern California Renegades, who eliminated D-Bat United by a final of 2-1 earlier in the day on Friday.
Jonathan Christner, who came into the game in relief of starting pitcher Emerson McKnight, earned the win for the Bulls. Christner, from Weatherford (Texas) College, threw 3⅓ innings and allowed only four hits and one walk, striking out four Dodgers hitters to close out the contest.
The Dodgers jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the top half of the first inning, thanks to back-to-back runs from Logan Corley and Anthony Del Angel. The Bulls responded with a run in the bottom of the first on and RBI single off Wiley’s bat, cutting the Dodgers lead in half.
Corley, Del Angel and John Clark each scored runs in the top of the fourth inning to give the Dodgers what appeared to be a commanding 5-1 lead.
The Bulls again responded, scoring twice and running Luke Sandefur off the mound for the Dodgers in the fourth inning. Sandefur threw 3⅔ innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a pair of walks.
The Bulls took the lead in the sixth inning, getting to Corley, who came to the mound in relief of Mason Parsons. Corley, who transferred in from right field, gave up four runs in just one-third of an inning, allowing two hits, three walks and a pair of hit batsmen.
Christner shut down the Dodgers late in the game, facing nine hitters in the final two innings, striking out four and shutting down any attempts at a late rally.
