By Glen Miller/Staff Writer

MUSTANG — The Mustang Boomers, Canadian County’s American Legion Majors team, is looking for consistency in the final week of the 2007 summer season.

The squad split a doubleheader with the Oklahoma Outlaws Thursday night, winning the opener 8-7 before losing the nightcap 10-1. In the victory, Calumet’s Ethan Davis picked up the save, getting the final two outs with the tying run at second base. Tuttle’s Doug Carel was credited with the win after the Boomers blew an 8-3 lead.

The Boomers were coming off a two-game loss to the Elk City Travelers earlier in the week by scores of 9-6 and 13-2. Mustang was 2-4 for the week, splitting a series with OKC Brassfield, heading into a weekend twinbill with Durant to close out the regular season. The squad is 20-17 going into the series.

“To some point we are struggling with consistency,” Mustang Boomers coach Shannon Enfield said. “But the competition at this point in the season has been good. We are not finishing up with the little sisters of the poor.”

In fact, Enfield said the losses are not a concern as he is working deep into his pitching staff in order to get everyone ready for the nine-inning games which come with the District 6 championship – which starts Thursday in Mustang.

“I’m looking at the numbers and making sure the guys we know will start are throwing around 100 pitches and the guys that will be in relief are throwing less,” Enfield said. “In nine-inning games, we are looking at breaking up the staff into two-pitcher groups, so that’s why we are going so deep.”

Elk City 9, 13
Mustang 6, 2

The Boomers struggled at the plate with only 13 hits in the two-game series with the hand-selected Travelers.

Nine of those series hits came in the three-run loss. Mustang’s Chase Ashley was 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Mustang’s James Madison and Blanchard’s Jason West had a double each. Madison added a single to his game total and scored a run.

Okarche’s David Grellner, who had been on fire in recent games, managed only a hit in four trips to the plate. Calumet’s Ethan Davis went 1-for-3 with a run driven in, while Del City’s Ryan Johnston was 2-for-4.

Mustang southpaw Zac Tidholm took the loss, throwing five innings of 10-hit ball and allowing all nine runs. He fanned one batter and walked five. Brent Crain of Lookeba-Sickles worked an inning in relief.

In the 11-run loss to Elk City, Mustang was handcuffed to four hits – including a triple by Lookeba-Sickles’ Ky Recker. El Reno’s Chandon Vieweg went 1-for-2 with an RBI, while Mustang’s Ashley and Jimmy Gillespie had a hit each.

Carel shouldered the loss, allowing three runs off two hits and three walks – while fanning three. Cody Davis of Del City was tagged for 10 runs on seven hits and three walks over 2 1/3 innings.

Mustang 2, 11
Brassfiled 11, 6

The Boomers used five pitchers in the two-game set with Brassfield as the Oklahoma City-based club took the opening game in five innings. Mustang’s Steven Teter was hijacked for five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings, issuing two hits and five walks against a pair of strikeouts. Levon Lumpkin scattered six runs and five hits in 2 1/3 innings on the mound.

The offense got singles from Gillespie, West, Cody Davis and Mustang’s Alex Webb.

In the nightcap, Ethan Davis was credited with the win after throwing four innings. The right-hander allowed two runs, three hits and five walks, but fanned four batters. Crain and Lookeba-Sickles’ Justin Vincent closed out the game, yielding four runs off one combined hit and seven walks.

Grellner and Webb each doubled in the win, while Recker tripled. Ashley, Grellner and Madison each had singles, while Johnston and Webb ended the game with two hits each.