Mustangs Overcome Voyagers 8-6

The Mustangs (15-13) win a back-and forth thriller with five lead changes defeating the Voyagers 8-6. 

The Voyagers (13-14) picked up their first run in the first on an RBI single by Jaylyn Williams following a one-out walk by Langston Ginder and a single by Riley Jepson. 

They added on in the third on an RBI single by Jepson to score Xane Washington who led off the inning with a single to make it 2-0.

The single by Jepson ricocheted off starting right-hander Brandon McPherson, who finished the inning and did not re-enter. 

In the fourth, the Mustangs hit back-to-back homers off the bats of John Michael Faile and Luke Fennelly to tie it at 2. It's the first time this season the Mustangs have hit back-to-back homers in back-to-back days. 

Connor Denning joined the fun in the fifth with a homer to left-center - the deepest part of the yard, to take a 3-2 lead. 

The Voyagers answered in the sixth off right-hander McLain Harris, who retired the first batter and surrendered three hits in a row. A single to Anthony Herron Jr, a single to Giovanni DiGiacomo, and an RBI double by Billy Hancock. Jalen Armstrong grounded out to second to bring home DiGiacomo to make it 4-3 Voyagers. 

The Mustangs tied it up on an RBI single by Blake Evans in the home half of the sixth, which followed a leadoff walk by John Michael Faile who stole second and scored with two outs on the knock by Evans. 

Nate Jenkins tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh for the Mustangs picking up a strikeout. 

The Mustangs picked up another run to take a 5-4 lead in the seventh after a one-out double by Denning. Gabe Wurtz extended his hitting streak to eight games to bring Denning home. 

The Voyagers picked up another pair of runs in the eighth as Jenkins delivered three straight one-out walks. Keagan McGinnis entered with the bases loaded and walked home Herron Jr to make it 5-5, and Washington hit home DiGiacomo to make it 6-5. 

The Ponies weren't finished in the eighth. Luke Fennelly led off the inning with a single, and Mitch Moralez came through with a two-strike knock off the pitcher Tommy Snyder's glove. Blake Evans attempted a sac bunt, and Jaylyn Williams came in from first to throw it to Ryan Peltier, the second baseman covering the bag at first, and the throw came in low, skipping in towards the bullpen. This allowed Fennelly and Moralez to score and make it 7-6. Evans made it to third on the play and scored on a Snyder wild pitch to make it 8-6. 

Keagan McGinnis finished out the final two outs in the eighth, and gave up a lead-off single to Jepson and a walk to Williams. From there, Peltier grounded into a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners. 

McGinnis capitalized on the out with a strikeout on Herron Jr. DiGiacomo walked to load the bases, and Billy Hancock swung over the top of the ball to ground it over a leaping McGinnis, but Fennelly anticipated the miss and charged the ball, whipping the ball to first to end the game. 

The Mustangs try to take game two of this three-game home series against the Voyagers Saturday evening at 6:15 p.m. with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. on ESPN 910/105.5 KBLG or ESPN910.com. You can also watch every pitch on FloSports.