MOONEY GETS THE JOB DONE

BELOIT OH-  Cardinal Mooney used a monster fifth inning to break things wide open Monday, knocking off West Branch 11-5.

Mooney got the scoring started in the first when Ben Oddis punched a single to drive in a run. West Branch answered with a run on a passed ball in the bottom half to tie it up.

The back-and-forth kept rolling early. Mooney took the lead in the second off a fielder’s choice, but West Branch came right back with a sac fly and a single to jump ahead 3-2.

Mooney wasn’t rattled. They put up a crooked number in the third thanks to a two-run single from Ford Stacy and a run scoring on another passed ball to go up 5-3. West Branch tied it again in the bottom half on a double to left.

But the fifth inning was all Mooney. Kaden Reese kicked it off with an RBI single, Trent Litman ripped a two-run single, Taco Verroco followed with another two-run knock, and Ryan Reese tacked on one more with a base hit. When the dust settled, Mooney had a six-run inning and full control of the game.

Kaden Reese came out of the bullpen and slammed the door, tossing four scoreless innings while giving up just two hits and striking out three. Vince Gentile got the start, grinding through three innings before handing it off to the bullpen.

Mooney’s offense was humming, racking up 16 hits on the day. Oddis stayed hot at the plate with a 3-for-4 day, while Litman drove in three runs out of the eight-spot. Andrew Bushey, Will Petty, both Reeses, and Stacy all had multi-hit games. Mooney also ran wild, swiping five bases, with Petty grabbing two of them. Clean game defensively too — no errors.

West Branch got a solid day from their eight-hole hitter, who drove in a pair. Charlie Biskup and Maddox Coleman each picked up two hits as well, but the Warriors couldn’t slow down Mooney once that fifth inning storm hit.