Highland Splits the Day at Palmyra Cluster with Draw and Loss
Palmyra, MO – At the annual Palmyra Cluster, the Highland Cougars opened their day with a hard-fought 4-4 draw against the Marceline Tigers. The game was called after 10 innings due to time limits, with Highland still needing to face host Palmyra in the afternoon.
Highland Battles Marceline to 10-Inning Draw at Palmyra Cluster
Highland turned to senior Brock Schneider on the mound, while Marceline started Trace Huber. The Cougars struck early in the top of the first. Senior Johnathan Hager drew a leadoff walk, and Schneider followed with a single. A defensive indifference allowed Hager to score and moved Schneider into scoring position. With two outs, junior Tyson Voth reached on a dropped third strike and drove in Schneider for a 2-0 lead.
Marceline answered in the bottom of the first. After a double and single, the Cougars caught the lead runner in a rundown on a squeeze attempt. Still, Huber later delivered a two-out RBI double to make it 2-1.
A quiet second inning included a key pickoff by Schneider, who threw to Voth to catch a runner at first. In the third, Highland capitalized on a pair of errors and a walk to load the bases. Voth came through again with a two-RBI single, stretching the lead to 4-1.
Hager kept the Tigers in check in the third, fielding two groundouts and a pop-up. But Marceline chipped away with a run in the fourth after a Cougar error and an RBI single by freshman Roper Niemeier.
The Tigers tied it in the sixth. Cody Rodgers led off with a triple and scored on a passed ball, then Huber came around after a series of Cougar miscues. With the score now 4-4, Anthony Walter made a key pickoff at third and later relieved Schneider on the mound.
Both teams had chances to win in extras, but each defense made big plays to hold the line. The game was officially called after 10 innings, ending in a rare time-limit draw.
Highland vs. Marceline – Notable Stats
Highland
• Brock Schneider – 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R (1 ER), 2 K; 2-4, 1 2B, 2 R
• Anthony Walter – 4.1 IP, 2 H, 8 K; 2 pickoffs at 3B
• Tyson Voth – 1-5, 2 RBI
• Johnathan Hager – Leadoff walk, strong defense, scoreless inning
Marceline
• Trace Huber – 6.1 IP, 4 R (1 ER), 13 K; game-tying RBI double
• Cody Rodgers – 1-4, 1 3B, 1 R
• Cody Lowe – 3-5
Marceline earlier fell to Palmyra 4-3 in 8 innings. They moved to 9-14-1 on the season and will return home for Senior Night against Knox County on Monday, May 12 at 5:00 P.M. They’ve secured the #3 seed in the Class 2 District 7 Tournament and will face Fayette on May 16.
Palmyra Pounces Early in Second Game
In their second game of the day, Highland jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first, but the momentum quickly shifted. Palmyra responded with five runs in the bottom half, then piled on eight more in the second inning. The Panthers continued the offensive surge with five in the third and three more in the fourth to seal a 21-6 win in a run-rule shortened game.
The Cougars added two final runs in the top of the fourth but couldn’t overcome the deficit. With the results, Highland finished 0-1-1 at the cluster.
Highland vs. Palmyra – Notable Stats
Palmyra
• Colby Jones (W) – 3.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R (0 ER)
• Raeson Miller – 2-3, 1 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI
• Pierce White – 1-3, 2 R, 4 RBI
Highland
• Heath Feldkamp (L) – 1.0 IP, 4 H, 9 R (7 ER), 3 K
• Brock Schneider – 3-3, 1 R, 1 RBI
• Dawson Hedges – 2-2, 1 R, 1 RBI
With the pair of wins, Palmyra improved to 13-9. They’ll finish the regular season with road games at Clopton (May 12) and Kirksville (May 14), and have locked in the #2 seed in the Class 3 District 6 Tournament. They’ll play the winner of Clark County and Highland on May 16.
Highland dropped to 3-13-1 on the year. The Cougars will face Canton on the road Monday, May 12 at 5:00 P.M. in their annual cross-county matchup, and will wrap up their regular season at home against Hannibal on Tuesday, May 13. They’ll enter the district tournament as the #6 seed and face Clark County on Thursday, May 15 at 6:30 P.M. in Macon.
