Tigers shut out Purple Dragons in extra-inning victory

The Nevada Tigers prevailed 1-0 over the Pittsburg (Kan.) Purple Dragons in a nine-inning pitchers duel Saturday afternoon in Pittsburg.

The non-conference victory improved the Tigers to 4-1 overall (3-1 West Central Conference).

Tigers starting pitcher, sophomore Branden Harder, was brilliant on the mound, no-hitting the Purple Dragons through five innings of play.

In addition to his top-flight pitching performance, Harder plated the winning run in the top of the ninth inning via a fielders choice, as senior Derek O'Dell touched home plate for the games first run.

Nevada junior Payton Bright picked up the save, while O'Dell earned the victory, improving to 3-0. In addition to Harder, O'Dell, and Bright, junior Jacob Johnson also pitched in relief.

"This was a fun game to be a part of," Nevada head coach Danny Penn said. "There was lots of good pitching and defense. I was proud of our players for never getting down, especially after some missed opportunities."

The Tigers escaped a dicey situation in the bottom of the eighth, with the bases loaded and nobody out. The innings first out came when third baseman Johnson, fielded a grounder and fired to home plate for the force out. O'Dell then recorded a strike out, followed by a grounder to second base, pulling off a Wade Davis-esque escape.

For Nevada, junior left fielder Myles McNeley was 2-for-3 at the plate.

"We had a lot of base-runners, but we just couldn't come up with the big hit," Penn said. "The same could be said for Pittsburg. They had multiple opportunities to score, but our pitching and defense didn't let it happen.

"Our pitching was absolutely nails, and its was great to see Jacob and Payton throw up zero's in their innings of relief."

Bill O'Dell Classic

Nevada was defeated 4-3 in extra innings by the Webb City Cardinals Monday in the first round of the Bill O'Dell Classic in Carthage.

The winning run came across in the eighth-inning, as the Tigers fell to 4-2 overall.

Up next

Nevada is slated to resume pool-play as they face Monett at 2 p.m. today.

The Tigers then face Carthage Wednesday afternoon.