Brandon Hagedorn's near-perfect pitching performance lifted the Thunderbirds to a 9-0 Eastern Missouri Conference trouncing of the Wildcats on Thursday night.
North Callaway's senior starter struck out a career-high 10 in the complete-game effort to record his first win of the season. The only blemish for Hagedorn (1-4) was a one-out single by Montgomery County's Tanner Cobb in the top of the seventh inning.
"He had good command of the zone and was throwing all of his pitches for strikes," Thunderbirds head coach Kevin O'Neal said of Hagedorn. "He did a great job of pitch selection and pitch location."
North Callaway (6-7, 4-4 EMO) logged single runs in the first and second. The Thunderbirds pulled away by tallying six runs in the fourth and one in the sixth to earn their third straight victory.
Sophomore shortstop J.T. Higgins went 3-for-4 with a run batted in and a run scored as North Callaway piled up 12 hits, while sophomore catcher Wyatt Branson finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and a triple.
Senior right fielder Zach McCowan was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and senior left fielder Cole Branson went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
"We've been working on making adjustments at the plate all year," O'Neal said. "Our situational hitting was great tonight.
The T-Birds used a 10-0 junior varsity triumph to even their record at 5-5.
North Callaway hosts the state-ranked Mexico Bulldogs in non-conference action at 5 p.m. today. Mexico is ranked No. 9 in Class 4 by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.