Hornets bow to Rolla in semis, outlasts Hallsville in opener of 21st-annual Fulton Tournament

The Fulton Hornets were one big base hit short of potentially playing for their own tournament championship.

The Hornets left the bases loaded in the top of the seventh in bowing to the Rolla Bulldogs 5-3 in the semifinals of the 21st-annual Fulton Tournament on Monday at the high school athletic complex.

"We gave ourselves a chance to get into the championship game, we just couldn't come up with the big hit in that last inning against Rolla to get to that point," Fulton head coach Darren Masek said.

Trailing 5-2 in the top of the seventh, the Hornets (9-13) got the first two runners aboard after sophomore catcher Isaiah Pani and junior pitcher Tristan Steffens drew back-to-back walks.

After junior right fielder Trenton Clines grounded out to second for the first out, sophomore first baseman Jared Peery singled in sophomore courtesy runner Taylor Nelson to produce the final margin.

Junior left fielder Zach Franklin lined out to the shortstop, while sophomore center fielder Alec Fleetwood struck out looking to end the game.

Behind 2-0 after the first, Peery reached on an error to plate the Hornets' first run in their half of the second. Clines would double Nelson home with two outs in the third to even the game at 2-all.

Rolla smacked a two-run homer with one out in the fourth to reclaim the lead, then tacked on its final run with two outs in the sixth.

Steffens struck out four in going the distance for Fulton. He allowed five runs - four earned - on 10 hits and walked three. Clines was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored.

Pani, Peery and sophomore third baseman Luke Gray all finished 1-for-3 to account for the Hornets' five hits.

Fulton advanced in the tournament after holding off the Hallsville Indians 10-9 in their opening-round clash earlier on Monday.

The Hornets stretched out to a 4-0 lead through four innings, but the Indians punched back with a four-run top of the fifth inning to tie the game. Fulton responded with five in the bottom of the frame, while Hallsville responded with one in the sixth to draw to within 9-5.

The Hornets posted their last run in the bottom of the inning, while the Indians scored four two-out runs in the top of the seventh and had the tying run at third before Peery induced a pop out to shortstop to end the game and avenge a 6-5 loss to the Indians on April 30 in Hallsville.

"I was proud that we answered Hallsville's big inning in the fifth with one of our own," Masek said. "But we have to find a way to close those games out better."

Peery was a perfect 4-for-4 with four RBIs and tossed 1 2/3 innings of relief to collect the win. He fanned three, walked one and allowed four runs - three earned - on two hits.

Fleetwood finished 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Franklin was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Fulton will play in the third-place game, scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Friday.