By Cade Haak
JOPLIN, Missouri (July 19, 2024) – Game four started as a slow-paced pitching duel for the two starters, but Texarkana used a barrage of offense in the seventh inning to push themselves to the win.
Due to the pitching from two of the best arms in the league, the game remained tightly contested for the majority of its length. The Rhinos had Brandon Cardenas as the lead man, while the Outlaws opted to use their ace, Lucas Vanlanduit. Coming into this matchup between the two, they were tied atop the league standings with five wins each. Vanlanduit ended his evening after 6.0 innings pitched, with final stats of 7 strikeouts, 9 hits allowed, and six runs allowed. Cardenas ended the night with his league-leading sixth win and a statline of 7.0 innings pitched, four hits allowed, and just two earned runs.
Texarkana struck first in the fifth inning when Rylan Evans was walked with the bases loaded to bring in Ian Guanzon. Next, Texarkana added one more run the next inning when Sloan Laird lifted a ball into centerfield for a sacrifice fly that was deep enough to score Lane Epperson on the throw back in.
Joplin proceeded to tie the game at two in the bottom of the sixth as they found their first bit of success against Cardenas.
In the seventh inning, the Rhinos then broke the tie and built a strong lead. The first of the five runs of the inning was driven in by Rylan Evans when he ripped a double into left field that scored Ian Guanzon and pushed Alex DeLeon to third base. DeLeon scored on a single on a groundball through the left side. With two runners on, Lane Epperson hit a three-run bomb to left field that added the final three runs of the game for the Rhinos.
In the eighth, Joplin found slight success in their attempt to build a comeback when they scored one run, but they ultimately fell short as Texarkana walked away with a 7-3 win.
