'Stangs Roll Into July

The St. Joseph Mustangs are about a month into their 2025 MINK League season. Through 22 games, they’ve acquired 19 wins and a 14-2 record against MINK League opponents, which has set the ’Stangs on course for another potential MINK League

championship. Another championship win this season for St. Joseph would make 10 since 2009.

Four road games is how the Mustangs would begin their next week of play, all four against MINK League teams. Ending their action at Phil Welch for a few days against the Carroll Merchants on June 21, the next day featured St. Joseph in Carroll, facing the Merchants again, searching for a win in consecutive days against the same club.

St. Joseph was successful in finding a 12-3 win over the Merchants, marking St. Joseph’s third win against them this season. That was the beginning of three straight wins on the road for the ’Stangs. The team was also able to grab wins against Jefferson City, 7-5, and split a doubleheader with Chillicothe, concluding their road trip 3-1 overall.

June 25 called for the St. Joseph All-Stars to make an appearance at Phil Welch Stadium. In what was more of an exhibition game for the Mustangs, the usual position players

took the mound, and the pitchers stepped into the box and field, switching roles for an opportunity to see if the grass is greener on the other side. The mixed-up lineup for the Mustangs was enough to give them the edge in a 9-4 win in Wednesday’s contest.

Trevor McCollum started on the hill for the Mustangs and threw four scoreless frames. Dom Felix got a shot on the pitcher’s mound too, throwing a couple of innings and allowing two

runs in the fifth to the All-Stars.

An exciting opportunity for the ’Stangs pitching staff came Wednesday night when they got a chance to step into the batter’s box against the All-Stars. Gage Busby made the most of

his plate appearances, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, netting himself player of the game to start the week. Michael Infranca also came through with an impressive opposite-field

double that scored a run in the bottom of the sixth.

Thursday brought the challenge of the Clarinda Athletics back to St. Joseph for the first time in 2025. The Athletics had gotten the best of the Mustangs in their most recent matchup

June 15 in Clarinda. In a close 4-3 ballgame, the Mustangs couldn’t slam the door, striking out nine times, which is their second-highest count in that column all season. Two of the three times St. Joseph has struck out nine or more times, they drop the match, which was also the case in these teams’ first matchup this season.

Eager to steal that win back, the Mustangs battled with Clarinda in what was a close contest almost all the way through. Knotted up at three in the top of the ninth inning, with adrenaline as high as it had been all night, is exactly when Mother Nature decided to halt the action. Rain began to pour onto the field at Phil Welch Stadium, and the game was eventually postponed to a later date that is yet to be decided.

Despite the bummer of a finish, Landon Reith gave his best efforts as the starting pitcher for the ’Stangs. He pitched six complete innings and allowed just one run in the final frame he

pitched. Clarinda struck in the top of the seventh with a two-run single that gave the Athletics a timely 3-2 lead. Trevor McCollum kept St. Joseph alive with a hit to right field that scored Jack

Mosh from second and tied the game back up at three. Unfortunately, that is when the rain hit.

The beginning of the weekend brought the Carroll Merchants back to St. Joseph for the second time this season. A feisty crowd kept the energy throughout the night Friday, but the

Merchants narrowly escaped with a 7-5 victory in Phil Welch.

Jaren Guck got the nod for his third start of the season against Carroll. He gave up four early runs in the first three frames, although he settled down through the next two innings, allowing no runs and keeping St. Joseph in the game. The bullpen for the ’Stangs gave up three combined runs in the final four innings, including a solo home run that capped off the scoring for Carroll.

The ’Stangs offense showed up in spurts Friday. Much of the offensive production came by way of the sacrifice fly. Chris Coy had one to begin the scoring for St. Joseph in the first frame, followed by a sacrifice fly from Parker Griffith that scored another run in the second inning. The third inning displayed Dom Felix continuing the trend and bringing in Chris Coy in

the same fashion. A late spark in the final inning gave way to another Mustang run coming across the plate, although it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.

A more successful comeback effort was on display late Saturday night. The Mustangs, at one point in their final game of the homestand against the Sedalia Bombers, stared a 10-2

deficit in the face. On the verge of their first potential run-rule loss of the season, the Mustangs proved just how dangerous of a team they can be in crunch time. By scoring eight runs in the

final two innings of regulation and seven in the eighth inning alone, St. Joseph was able to tie and eventually send everyone home with an 11-10 walk-off winner.

Wichita State commit Easton Phillippe was crowned the hero Saturday after his walk-off triple that scored the winning run, ending the game in the eleventh. Parker Griffith represented

the winning run, knocked in by Phillippe on what was Griffith’s 21st birthday, putting the cherry on top of a miraculous Mustangs comeback.

St. Joseph sits on top of the MINK League, boasting a 20-4 overall record and a 15-3 record against MINK League opponents. The Mustangs were scheduled to play two road games before resuming play at Phil Welch, but June 29’s match against the Nevada Griffons was postponed due to another rainout. Following the postponement, the ’Stangs get a day of rest before July 1, when they will proceed to Chillicothe to face the Mudcats. July 3-5 will be three straight MINK League opponents trying to best the Mustangs at Phil Welch Stadium, where they have lost just two games on the season.

- Keaton Smith