Shaffer, Sims put up zeroes before Mustangs score twice in eighth inning to get past Eagles

LIBERTY, Ill. — The line drive hit Cody Shaffer’s upper right arm with enough force that the ricochet led to an out at first base and had people scrambling to check on the Mendon Unity right-hander.

Immediately, the umpires called time and Mustangs coach Tyler McAllister popped out of the dugout to assess Schaffer’s injury or lack there of

Shaffer waved them off, smiling the entire time.

“Nothing to it,” he said after the game. “Adrenaline was running through me. There’ll probably be a bruise there tomorrow morning, but it was nothing more than that.”

And no one was going to pull him prematurely from a pitcher’s duel.

Shaffer and Eagles right-hander Jackson Sims matched each other by posting zeroes through six innings. Both starters walked five and struck out nine while wriggling out of enough jams and getting backed by solid relievers to send the scoreless game to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, Unity took advantage of two Liberty errors to plate two runs and Mustangs reliever Sawyer Allen induced a game-ending double play in the bottom of the frame for a 2-0 victory in West Central Conference play.

“Emotions are high and both teams are wanting to win, especially with it being a conference game,” said Shaffer, who allowed two hits over six innings. “Being able to make plays, routine plays, and making plays in tough situations is what won us that game.”

The fact neither team and neither starter was willing to give an inch made it more dramatic.

“Those are two pitchers in this area that I know will go out and compete every single at-bat,” Liberty coach Travis Ruppel said. “Watching those two today, even though it’s hard for me to sit back and take a loss, I know what it was like to see them go at it. It was awesome.

“You love to see guys go out and just attack hitters, do their jobs on the mound and have fun doing it.”

Shaffer and Sims were relentless in their attack right from the start.

A pair of walks and a single by Shaffer in the top of the first inning allowed the Mustangs to load the bases with one out, only to see Sims strike out back-to-back batters to ruin the threat. The Eagles put their first two runners on base in the second, but Shaffer struck out two of the next three batters to end the inning.

Unity (6-2) had another opportunity in the fifth when Avery Frese singled with one out and Shaffer walked, but Sims retired the next two hitters to maintain the shutout.

In the bottom of that frame, Liberty’s Beau Lueders singled with one out ahead of Dylan Hocking and Noah Klauser being hit by pitches to load the bases. Back-to-back strikeouts by Shaffer kept the duel intact, and he escaped the sixth inning as the Unity defense turned a double play.

“Our defense was terrific,” Shaffer said. “We wouldn’t have won that game without them.”

Sims allowed two runners to reach in the seventh before Levi Hoener was summoned in relief and induced a groundout that stranded both runners in scoring position. Sims exited after allowing only four hits.

“Jackson was mixing speeds really well and kept everyone off-balance,” Ruppel said. “He mentally went out attacking hitters. When guys weren’t making a play behind him, he found a way to stick back in it, go after hitters, do his job, keep runners from advancing.

“Overall, he mentally had that attitude that I’m going to go out and shut you down.”

Shaffer, who signed a national letter of intent earlier Thursday with Black Hawk Community College, exited after six innings, turning the game over to Allen.

“My excitement was through the roof today,” said Shaffer, who also went 2 for 4 at the plate. “It was another fun reason for me to be out there.”

Allen retired the Eagles (2-6) in order in the seventh and then led off the eighth inning by reaching on an error when a pop-up into short left field was dropped. Carter Reeves reached on an error, and Allen scored from second base on the play. Reeves stole third and scored on a wild pitch for the two-run advantage.

In the bottom of the inning, Hoener doubled with one out and Jack Sparrow walked, but Sims grounded into a double play to end the game.

“Our pitching has been able to throw strikes and our defense has been great,” Shaffer said. “We need to get some more timely hits, but we keep finding a way to get the job done.”