By MATT KING
Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 10:38 AM CDT

PARK HILLS — The Mineral Area College baseball team received six brilliant innings from ace pitcher Aaron Blunt, and withstood a late Florissant Valley comeback on Tuesday for an 8-5 victory in game one of a double-header.

Blunt recorded nine strikeouts and allowed no runs on one hit to collect his third win of the season. Blunt retired 12 consecutive batters with several ground balls during one stretch and carried a no-hitter into the fifth.

Infielders Blake Pinnon and Mike Bigogno each finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Korey Domenick added a sacrifice fly and two walks in three plate appearances to pace the Cardinals.

Pinnon hammered a solo home run off starter Jon Hecht in the first inning, and Bigogno followed with a double before scoring on a passed ball. Hecht would settle in before a walk sparked a Mineral Area rally in the fourth.

Isaac Armstrong joined Domenick on base with a bunt single, and Jimmy Thompson wrapped a blistering three-run drive inside the left field foul pole for his first home run this spring and a 5-0 advantage.

Catcher Drew Pixley tripled and scored on a wild pitch later in the frame, and the Cardinals increased the margin with two insurance tallies in the fifth.

Florissant Valley rattled the MAC bullpen by sending 11 batters to the plate during the seventh, eventually putting the tying run on base. Dan Kuntz brought the Fury within 8-4 on a grand slam against reliever Josh McMillan.

Consecutive infield hits by Ryan Sheldon and Brett Sietrich continued the lengthy inning with two outs, and Matt Hester greeted pitcher Phillip Davolt with a RBI single to center.

Chance Cleveland, who was already slated to start game two, entered the action with the bases loaded but calmly induced a fielder’s choice ground ball to nail down the save.

Cleveland returned to the mound for six impressive innings, striking out five while scattering four hits, and the Cardinals completed a conference sweep over the Fury with a 11-1 victory.

Nick Cox finished 2-for-3 and Domenick reached base four times as the Cardinals managed seven total hits. Fury pitchers issued six walks while plunking five other batters.

Seitrich put Florissant Valley ahead with a misjudged RBI double after Hester began the game with a first-pitch single, but MAC capitalized on three walks with a six-run outburst in the third inning.

Bigogno lined a two-run homer over the wall against pitcher Eric Windham, and Armstrong made it 3-1 with a RBI double to left-center. Cox capped the scoring carousel with a two-run single up the middle.

Mineral Area tacked on two unearned tallies in the fifth, then invoked the 10-run rule when six straight batters reached safely after two outs were recorded in the sixth.

Tyler Beers started the final rally with a triple to center, and Domenick looped a two-run double down the left-field line. The game ended when a ground ball from Bobby Tatum was booted at third base.

Ste. Genevieve graduate Tyler Thomure doubled and Ryan Boyle singled for the Fury (7-23).

Mineral Area (9-17) will host Meramec for two games today a 1 p.m.

GAME ONE:

Florissant Valley  000 000 5 - 5  6  1

Mineral Area  200 420 x - 8  7  0

WP - Blunt 6ip 0r 1h 9k 2bb.

LP - Hecht 5ip 8r 7h 2k 2bb.

SV - Cleveland 1/3 ip 0r 0h 0k 0bb.

Hitting:

Florissant Valley - Seitrich 1-3, Hester 1-3, Roth 1-3, Boyle 1-3, Kuntz 1-3, Sheldon 1-4. GS - Kuntz.

Mineral Area - Pinnon 2-3, Bigogno 2-3, Thompson 1-3, Armstrong 1-3, Pixley 1-3. 2b - Bigogno. 3b - Pixley. HR - Pinnon (1), Thompson (1).

GAME TWO:

Florissant Valley  100 000 - 1  4  2

Mineral Area  006 023 - 11  7  0

WP - Cleveland 6i 1r 4h 5k 2bb.

LP - Windham 2 2/3ip 3r 1h 1k 2bb 3hp.

Hitting:

Florissant Valley - Thomure 1-2, Hester 1-3, Seitrich 1-3, Boyle 1-3. 2b - Seitrich, Thomure.

Mineral Area - Cox 2-3, Domenick 1-1, Armstrong 1-2, Pinnon 1-3, Beers 1-3, Bigogno 1-4. 2b - Domenick, Armstrong. 3b - Beers. HR - Bigogno (1).