By Glen Miller/Staff Writer

Not even an eight-hour road trip to St. Louis could keep the Mustang Boomers from having to revamp its schedule recently at the Anheuser-Busch Invitational due to rain.

Over an inch of rain fell on St. Louis the night before the tournament, the first that city has seen since the middle of May.

“Everywhere we go it’s rained,” Boomers head coach Shannon Enfield said. “We got delayed by rain, but at least we got to play. I feel very fortunate to have gotten four games in because there are teams sitting here at home that have not played in nine days.”

When they did get on the field, the Boomers posted a 3-0 record in pool play, beating Missouri teams from Washington and Oakville as well as New Baden, Ill. However, Mustang ran into pitching woes in a 12-6 loss to Missouri-based Rock Memorial in the quarterfinals.

“I really thought we played well. We made only two errors in 28 innings, it’s just one of those errors proved costly in that quarterfinal game,” Enfield said. “We had our opportunities in that game, but it’s hard to beat three home runs when you are hitting singles.”

That miscue was a dropped fly ball with the game tied at 5-all, allowing two runs to score.

“It sort of snowballed after that,” Enfield said. “We had to go into our bullpen and we were missing three pitchers for that last game. I had to use some players in relief that had started in earlier games and it didn’t work out like we wanted.”

Mustang scored six runs on seven hits in that quarterfinal game, with Mustang’s Alex Webb going 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI-double. Chase Ashley was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, while David Grellner and Ky Recker added a hit each and Ryan Johnston had two.

Mustang’s pitching staff was tagged for 12 hits, including a solo home run and a three-run homer by the same batter. Cody Davis took the loss, throwing 4 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits and three walks.

Mustang 9, Oakville, Mo. 4

The Boomers banged out 11 hits, with Okarche’s Grellner going 4-for-4 with two runs scored. He was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. Ashley, Jimmy Gillespie, Webb and El Reno’s Chandon Vieweg all singled in the win, while Brooks McMurphy doubled along with James Madison.

Justin Vincent threw four innings for the win, allowing three runs off five hits and four walks. He fanned three batters. Mustang’s Steven Teter threw a third of an inning in relief, issuing a walk. Calumet’s Ethan Davis yielded a run off a hit and a walk over 2 2/3 innings of work – striking out one.

Mustang 3, New Baden, Ill. 1

Zac Tidholm dismantled one of Illinois’ best squads, allowing the lone run off five hits and no walks. The left-hander struck out eight batters.

The Boomers managed only five hits, with Ashley going 1-for-3 with a run batted in. Gillespie and Grellner were 1-for-2, while Webb and Jason West added a hit each.

Mustang 3, Washington, Mo. 2

Ethan Davis picked up the win in relief, tossing two-thirds of an inning. Doug Carel threw the first 6 1/3 innings, issuing two runs off seven hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts.

The Boomers offense came off four bats as Ashley was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in. Gillespie was 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Johnston was 1-for-1 and Jason West 1-for-3.