MARSHALL - The Fulton Hornets were forced to put in a little extra work in frigid conditions to obtain their first North Central Missouri Conference win.
Senior left fielder Zach Franklin singled home junior shortstop Devin Masek with the winning run with one out in the top of the ninth inning to lift Fulton to a 4-3 NCMC victory over the Marshall Owls on Thursday night.
Senior Trenton Clines - pitching the final three innings in relief of junior starter Taylor Nelson - worked around a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win for the Hornets (2-1, 1-1 NCMC). Fulton steadied itself after Marshall forced extra innings by tallying a run in the seventh to tie the game at 3-all.
"It was nerve-wracking but the kids are fighters, especially our senior leadership with Trenton Clines and Zach Franklin," Hornets head coach John Brinkmann said. "They showed a willingness to battle through the cold and then losing the lead. They never quit."
Masek started the Hornets' ninth with a single to center and went to second on a sacrifice by Nelson. Junior catcher Isaiah Pani and junior first baseman Jared Peery drew consecutive walks to load the bases, and Franklin followed by driving a 2-1 pitch to left to bring home Masek with the decisive run.
Clines allowed an earned run on two hits, struck out three and walked three in picking up the victory. He also wriggled his way out of a bases-loaded predicament in the seventh after the Owls pulled even.
"Trenton battled (out of trouble)," Brinkmann said. "That takes a pretty big heart."
Nelson gave up two earned runs on five hits in six innings, logging five strikeouts and issuing just one walk.
"Taylor threw a lot of first-pitch strikes - he was pounding the zone," Brinkmann said. "He was ahead in the count and had (Marshall) back on its heels."
Fulton gained an early edge by putting up a run in the first when Franklin knocked in junior courtesy runner Josh Quick with a two-out single to left. Marshall countered with two runs in the second to go in front, but the Hornets responded with two runs in the fifth to regain the lead.
Pani opened the inning with a double to right, advanced to third on Peery's sacrifice and tied the game on junior third baseman Luke Gray's single to right. Gray sprinted to second on a wild pitch and then put Fulton on top 3-2 when he raced home on Clines' double into the gap in right-center.
Franklin went 3-for-4 as the Hornets collected nine hits, while Masek finished 2-for-5 with a stolen base. Gray and Pani were both 1-for-4 and Clines was 1-for-5.
"The first two innings were a little rough (at the plate), so we had a team meeting in front of the dugout in the third," Brinkmann said. "... We simplified our approach and hit the ball the other way."
Fulton returns home for a non-conference matchup against Eldon at 5 p.m. Tuesday.