Joe Allan knew what was going on. Entering the top of the fifth, he had a no-hitter.
And all that stood in the way of Allan’s no-hit bid was three batters who, until the fifth, hadn’t mustered anything against him. The Merchants’ right-hander was at his best Tuesday evening, tossing a two-hitter in a 12-1 drubbing of Monett in front of a large crowd at Carl Lewton Stadium.
Jake Smith’s single in the top of the fifth broke up the no-hitter, and Jared Barchak, a Pierce City native, ruined the shutout when his fielder’s choice scored Smith. But other than a pair of walks and those two hits, Allan stymied everyone else he faced.
Impressive stuff, really.
For a while, Allan thought he had a chance, but he wasn’t disappointed.
“This was probably the best game I’ve ever thrown,” said Allan, after retiring the final three batters he faced in the fifth.
Allan, who threw only 69 pitches, walked the leadoff hitter in the top of the first, but quickly found command of his curve ball, which he used often.
“I told (starting catcher Terrin Garber) I was going to continue throwing curve balls,” explained Allan. “It kept (Monett) off-balance.”
It sure did. Allan (2-2) fanned five and induced six ground balls and only two fly balls against Monett, which has dealt with a rash of injuries this season — and it showed with a relatively young lineup.
In a show of unity, or lack thereof, Monett tried outdoing one another as six different players committed 11 errors, including starter Andy Hagadorn, who hit two batters and threw four wild pitches.
The Merchants responded by scoring three runs in the first, one in the second, six in the third and two more in the fourth.
Leadoff hitter Dalton Cossey, who was hit by a pitch and singled in the fourth, scored four of the
Merchants’ 12 runs and Stephen Poston connected for his first home run of the season in the six-run third.
“It’s good to be back,” said Poston with a smile after the game.
In the meantime, Josh Collins extended his hitting streak with a double in the prolonged third. Ironically, Monett committed only one error in the inning, which lasted nearly 20 minutes. The game, however, ended in the fifth due to the 10-run rule.
The Merchants, who are now a season-high 11 games over .500 with a 20-9 record overall and 7-1 in District 15 play, remain at home to face Nevada at 6 p.m. today.
