Fulton head coach Darren Masek and his Hornets baseball team have every reason to be pleased with their present position.
Junior starter Tristan Steffens delivered a stellar outing and sophomore catcher Isaiah Pani had two hits and drove in three runs Tuesday night as surging Fulton overpowered state-ranked Boonville in a 6-1 North Central Missouri Conference victory at the high school athletic complex.
The win was the third straight and sixth in the last eight games for Fulton, which improved to 7-6 on the season and 4-3 in the NCMC. The Hornets - who rapped out 10 hits and didn't commit an error for the second time in their last three games - also avenged a 7-0 loss at Boonville on March 25.
The Pirates are ranked No. 7 in Class 4 by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.
"This was an outstanding win," Masek said. "I feel pretty good about it and everybody else feels good about it. We're playing very good baseball right now and we hope to continue that.
"We've been pitching really well, the defense has been playing outstanding and we're hitting the ball a lot better."
Steffens - whose pitch count reached 100 - gave up just an earned run while scattering five hits to pick up the complete-game victory. He logged three strikeouts and walked two.
"Early in the game, Tristan had trouble with his off-speed pitch, but he found it in the third inning and kept Boonville off-balance," Masek said. "He's a competitor and didn't give in."
Pani finished 2-for-3 and provided Fulton with its only extra-base hit on a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning. Junior first baseman Zach Franklin also scored when Pani reached on an error in the fourth.
Sophomore right fielder Josh Quick - the Hornets' leadoff hitter - went 3-for-4 and scored twice, while sophomore second baseman Devin Masek was 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the first and a run scored.
Sophomore designated hitter Jared Peery finished 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the first and senior shortstop Blake Thompson went 0-for-3 but knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
"I like the fact that one through nine (in the lineup), we're hitting the ball," Darren Masek said.
Fulton travels to Moberly for an NCMC matchup at 5 p.m. Thursday.