Missouri Military Academy ran out of gas in more ways than one on Wednesday.

MMA vs Vienna Photo Gallery

The Colonels capped six games in 10 days, including four last week and their Senior Night game the previous day against Van-Far, with their final home contest this year against Vienna. After scoring three runs in the seventh inning to force extra innings, MMA then allowed 10 runs in the eighth to lose 16-6 in eight innings.

With all that time on the field, head coach Thomas Roberts said that affects the pitching considerably as the Colonels (7-7) used six pitchers against the Eagles (12-4). Hunter Manderson started the game while avoiding walks in the first four innings, but beginning with the fifth inning, MMA pitchers combined for nine walks to go along with four errors on the defense. Roberts said the Colonels should feel good after battling back to tie and following a three-game winning streak that was snapped on Wednesday.

“That’s what you’ve got to take out of it for the players — the fact they battled back to tie the game in the seventh with a chance to win it,” Roberts said. “We ran out of pitching. We couldn’t pitch with any of our starters because they were up on pitch counts so we threw everything but the kitchen sink at them.”

Roberts said three junior varsity pitchers were used and struggled as only two pitchers after Manderson — nine hits, four walks, four runs and four strikeouts in five innings — pitched a full inning. Still, Roberts said it is a good experience for the future as those inexperienced pitchers were able to perform in a close-game situation.

The biggest lead before the lopsided eighth inning for either team was the 6-3 advantage owned by Vienna after the top of the seventh inning. It was a do-or-die seventh inning for the Colonels, who were set up for a big inning after two walks and a hit by pitch to load the bases with one out.

Avin Hernandez was one of three Colonels to tally three hits as he, Luke Wolf and Noah Garcia thrived as the team’s Nos. 5, 6 and 8 hitters, respectively. Hernandez smoked an RBI ground ball that couldn’t be corralled by the third basemen, Wolf blasted a RBI single to second base and then Charles George found a hole on the right side to tie the game at 6. Roberts said the senior George, in particular, needed a big hit like that as he has been hitting below .200.

“That’s a hit he really needed,” Robert said. “Avin’s been pretty solid for us all year long because he’s just been consistent. That’s what you need in baseball is consistency. Unfortunately, the bottom of our lineup has been struggling.”

MMA had the opportunity to score the winning run after Garcia picked up a single, but a strikeout squashed the threat.

As for the defense, the Colonels had some flashes of brilliance like when throwing out runners trying to take extra bases but couldn’t always prevent the Eagles from taking an extra 90 feet. Vienna took a 4-2 lead on a passed ball in the fifth inning and then padded its lead to 6-3 in the seventh inning after a missed catch in shallow right field. 

“Ethan Hersh behind the plate has been a gamer all year, and he’s thrown out a lot of guys on second and third just by hustle and being aware of what’s going on in a game,” Roberts said. “(Michael) Moss on second base is a gamer. There’s a few of these kids that are really good players, and they’re young — most of my infield is freshmen and sophomores.”

MMA plays at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Tuscumbia (1-14).