SEDEALIA, Mo. — Getting that third out proved to be tricky for the Raiders on Sunday. State Fair swept Three Rivers, winning the opener 8-3 and the nightcap 13-7, to sweep the fourgame series and extend the Raiders' losing streak to seven games. "You take a pitch or two each game and it probably changes the outlook," Three Rivers coach Stacey Burkey said. "In the doubleheader, we gave up 14 runs with two outs." Of those seven losses, six were against Region XVI opponents. Three Rivers is in the middle of playing eight straight and 10 of 12 on the road and is 1-8 over that span. Three Rivers had a strong start to the Sunday doubleheader with three runs in the top of the first inning in the opener. Drew Evans, who finished 3 for 4, had a leadoff hit and Garyn Stewart soon drove him in. Reece Reading and Ty'Reik Thomas both reached with two outs and Matt Robins came through with a two-run double. The Roadrunners (20-9, 12-4 Region XVI) took the lead with four runs in the second inning and added three runs in the third against Three Rivers starting pitcher River Hunt (1-4). "What seemed to be a small thing, a two-out walk in the second, that leads to four runs," Burkey said.

Hunt pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed four hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. He struck out the first six batters he faced, including four in the first inning after a curveball in the dirt got away from the catcher. "He had the kind of stuff where you were thinking, 'He might throw a no-hitter today,'" Burkey said. Garrett Payne relieved him and finished the game, allowing six hits and two walks with five strikeouts. The Raiders had eight hits against Chase Plymell (4-3), who struck out six and allowed two walks. Three Rivers (8-15, 4-12) started with the lead in the nightcap, as well, with four runs in the second inning, capped by a three-run home run by Dylan Kater, his first home run of the season. Thomas, Robbins, Grant Miller and Kater all scored in the second. Thomas was 2 for 3 with three runs in the game and Miller was 2 for 2 with two runs and two RBIs. He also walked twice. Both Miller and Kater had home runs. Again, though, State Fair came back with a bigger, badder crooked number in the next inning. This time, the Roadrunners countered with six runs in the third inning against Raider starting pitcher Shelby Quiggins (1-3). That rally, like the opener, also started with a two-out walk. Three Rivers tied it up in the fourth, and then State Fair took a 9-6 lead in the bottom of the frame before extending the lead to 13-7 by the end of the seventh inning. Quiggins allowed eight hits and five walks with three strikeouts over the first four innings. Cameron Johnson pitched the next four and allowed three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. Batting fifth in the lineup, Thomas was 4 for 6 with four runs and two walks in the doubleheader. The Malden alum is batting .304 in his freshman season with 13 RBIs and a home run. He was 7 for 14 with five runs in the four-game series against State Fair.

Scott Borkgren - Daily American Republic