Dustin Hagens pitched into the seventh inning, while the Fulton Hornets provided him with enough run support Friday in a 7-5 win against the Mexico Bulldogs in North Central Missouri Conference play at Darrell Davis Field.
Hagens went 6 innings, allowing five runs on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Hagens retired the first 10 batters he faced in the game and held the Bulldogs to two hits their first two trips through the batting order.
Grant Derenzy's RBI double in the bottom of the first inning gave the Hornets at 1-0 lead. Fulton added three more runs in the second with an RBI single by Allen Walker, followed by back-to-back bases-loaded walks drawn by Derenzy and Josh Dunmire.
Fulton scored three more runs in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead. Dunmire hit an RBI double, scored on a passed ball and Paul Houf had an RBI groundout to score the final run.
Hagens held Mexico scoreless through five innings, but the Bulldogs ended the shutout with four runs in the top of the sixth.
Mexico added another run in the seventh and loaded the bases with two outs, putting the tying run at second base. But Ethan Burt, who relieved Hagens, got an infield pop-up to end the game.
The Hornets finished the game with four hits. Ryan Newman had a single for the team's other hit.
Fulton (6-13, 4-6 NCMC), which played its final conference game Friday, will turn around at host Mexico on Monday in the first round of the Fulton Tournament. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs and fifth-seeded Hornets will have the first pitch at 4 p.m. in one of four games Monday, split between Fulton and Southern Boone high schools.