CARTHAGE, Mo. — As the finale of a three-game set arrived late Saturday afternoon at Carl Lewton Stadium, the Carthage Tigers hoped Trason Vogt could deliver an efficient outing on the mound.
Why? The Tigers had a prom to get to.
A 5-foot-9 senior southpaw, Vogt did his part to make sure he and his teammates wouldn't be late for the evening's dance.
Vogt's stellar pitching performance led Carthage to a 4-0 victory over Joplin in non-conference prep baseball action.
In Game 3 of the day, Vogt surrendered just one hit and three walks and fanned 14 in six effective innings before departing due to his pitch count. Vogt struck out the side in four frames and recorded quick inning after quick inning.
Carthage coach Mike Godfrey admitted he expects Vogt to get the job done each time he takes the hill.
"He does a great job of commanding his pitches," said Godfrey, who noted his players were leaving the historic stadium about 45 minutes after they were expected to be taking prom pictures. "He's a great competitor. He beat a team that just scored 19 runs against a good team. It was another great outing from Trason."
Joplin coach Kyle Wolf noted his squad just couldn't generate much offense against Vogt, who has signed with Arkansas-Little Rock.
"Trason does a very good job," Wolf said. "Once he gets rolling, it becomes very difficult. He steamrolled through it. He had all of his pitches working. We have to understand that we need to make adjustments at the plate. We can't take the same approach. You have to find a way to put the ball in play and create some pressure. We didn't do that today."
Joplin's Grant Jones was charged with the loss, but he only allowed four runs on seven hits.
"Grant did a tremendous job and competed in the zone really well," Wolf said.
Vogt helped his own cause by launching a solo home run over the right-field wall in the bottom of the first inning. Later in the inning, Bryce Pugh walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
The Tigers added two insurance runs in the fifth as Tanner Green singled, Kaden Kralicek doubled and then Vogt delivered a two-run single through the right side, giving his team a four-run cushion.
Joplin's lone hit against Vogt came in the sixth as Cade Carlson singled to left after Luke Benfield walked. Both runners were stranded. Grant Collier pitched the seventh for the Tigers, allowing a triple to Holden Ledford before retiring the side.
In earlier action, Joplin defeated Smithville 19-8 in six innings after Smithville edged Carthage 17-16 in eight innings.
"There were three good teams here battling it out," Godfrey said. "It was a good day."
SMITHVILLE 17, CARTHAGE 16
The opener also featured plenty of offense as the two teams combined for 33 runs on 37 hits.
The Warriors pushed across two runs in the top of the eighth and the hosts managed one run in the bottom half.
Ian O'Malley, Will McCombs, Kralicek and Vogt had three hits apiece for the Tigers, who plated their 16 runs on 21 hits. Vogt had an inside-the-park home run. Kale Schrader, Tucker Downing, Pugh and Green all contributed two hits.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Carthage (14-7) hosts St. Mary's Colgan (7-9) at 4:30 on Monday.
-Jason Peake, Joplin Globe Sports.
