The left arm of Joplin Outlaws’ Division I University of Texas-Arlington product Ty Zahradnik was in control of the opposition most of the night on the way to a 6-1 win over the Abilene Flying Bison on Friday at Joe Becker Stadium.
The Flying Bison (19-8) came into the night with a half-game lead over the Outlaws (19-7) in the Mid-America League standings, but Zahradnik helped to flip that. The left-handed pitcher struck out nine batters and had only allowed two hits and walked two batters prior to a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning.
“In the first few innings, I was struggling with my control and kind of got lucky on some pitches they chased that weren’t in the zone,” Zahradnik said. “Towards the end of the game, I realized they weren’t really catching up with the fastball so I just kept dominating with that, and then when I noticed they were cheating toward the fastball, I’d throw an offspeed and catch them with that and the same cycle over and over.”
The 6-foot-7-inch Zahradnik pitched seven innings and limited the Flying Bison to just one run on three hits after Rodrigo Bravo’s solo homer to left field.
Bravo’s long ball came immediately after the ejection of Abilene manager Kyle Dison. Outside of that hit, Zahradnik was tough to crack.
“Ty Zahradnik tonight went out there on the mound and completely dominated. That was really fun to watch from my standpoint because when guys like that are on the mound you don’t have to think a whole lot. You can just let them go out there and let their natural abilities take over,” Outlaws manager Dean Green said. “Truthfully, that guy is a workhorse in every sense of the word, and I’m thankful he’s on my team and I don’t have to go against him.”
Joplin got six runs, but it all started in Blake Wilson’s first at-bat of the night. Wilson got a pitch he liked with two outs in the inning and got just enough of it to get it over the fence in left to make it 1-0 in the bottom of the second frame.
“He’s been working on getting a little bit more pop in it (his swing) and getting more loft to it. Truthfully, the last few games, he’s been squaring it up really well. That hard work and work ethic of his came to fruition,” Green said.
“He just hung a slider. I think it was 2-2. He started me off with a fastball down the middle, but those first two guys (in the inning) hit the first two pitches so it was basically auto take and then just got lucky. He hung me one, and I stayed inside of it and luckily it flew enough,” Wilson said.
The Outlaws got another run in the third on a long drive to center field by Landin Midgett that scored Ravaughn Morgan. Midgett hit the ball directly over the head of Abilene’s center fielder Mackenzie Wainwright who was playing too shallow on that hit.
A four-run fourth inning blew things open as the offense gave Zahradniik all kinds of cushion.
Will Newberry and Cooper Moore finished the game with an inning apiece. Newberry struck out two and didn’t allow a baserunner as Moore struck out the side and walked one batter.
Morgan led the offense going 3 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI.
This marked the third straight win for Joplin.