The Thunderbirds went down the line to the next hitter and then the hitter after that.

North Callaway vs Wright City Photo Gallery

North Callaway drew 10 walks in its 8-3 Eastern Missouri Conference victory on Thursday at home against Wright City. Seven of nine Thunderbirds took a free base as they took advantage with a five-run seventh inning to beat Wright City for the first time since 2018, snapping a three-game losing and scoreless streak against the Wildcats. 

In the Thunderbirds’ previous three meetings, Wright City (0-4, 0-1 EMO) outscored them 27-0 so the latest edition in teams’ matchup history was already different when Matthew Weber laced an RBI single to score Jordan Fishburn, who took one of his three walks earlier in the inning. The senior Weber finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, including one in the big sixth inning.

“I think we’ve all been taking it more seriously this year,” Weber said. “We’ve just come together and have trusted each other.”

The Thunderbirds (3-2, 2-0 EMO) loaded the bases in the seventh inning, and then Kyle Pennell came through with a single to make it 4-3 to pass the job to Weber, who put the first pitch he saw into play to make it 5-3. Davis Woods took a walk to eventually shift the opportunity to Sam Pezold, who dropped a shallow fly into right field for two of his three RBI and an 8-3 game.

Weber said the Thunderbirds were confident when they had the bases loaded. As for him, Weber knew exactly what he wanted to do when it was his turn.

“We’re going up there to try and get a hit,” Weber said. “Once we had the bases loaded, we knew we had him worn down. We just kept our foot on the gas.”

Head coach Zeth Lavy said the previous year North Callaway defeated Wright City was his first year as head coach so it’s nice the team was able to end the drought. Lavy said Wright City has thrown out talented arms against the Thunderbirds in recent years that have shut them down.

Against starter Bryce Williams, North Callaway struck out five times but had constant traffic with seven walks and a hit by pitch. Bases remained clogged in the sixth inning when 11 Thunderbirds stepped in to hit as Micah Boeckman struggled in his two innings of relief.

“They graduated quite a bit last year, but they’re still going to be a solid ballclub throughout the year,” Lavy said. “(Wright City Ryan Taterman) has really turned the program around.

“It’s kind of like a tightrope act especially when the guy is struggling to throw strikes. I don’t think we chased too many balls, and we didn’t watch a ton of strikes go by. We had a pretty good approach at the plate.”

Even if certain Wildcats weren’t in the other dugout this time, they still had much speed as they laid down five bunts that turned into either hits or a sacrifice to advance a runner. North Callaway’s 2-0 lead after four innings became a 3-2 deficit in the fifth inning as Wright City followed a leadoff double with three straight successful bunts to tie the game at 2 and then take the lead on a delayed steal of home.

“We knew playing against that coach the last few years, that’s the brand of baseball they were going to play,” Lavy said. “It’s tough to defend when it’s executed well, and in that inning, they did a really good job of executing well. A couple missed plays there and that turned into a big inning for them.”

Catcher Carter Moore pounced on yet another bunt attempt to throw out the runner at first base for the third out, and Lavy said the Thunderbirds did exactly what they should’ve done after that. Pezold hit an RBI single with two outs to tie the score again to precede the big sixth inning.

“I like the way we battled back after an adverse inning,” Lavy said. “I liked that we just kept the pedal down and got to the next guy and kept separating the score.”

AJ Haubner allowed five hits and three earned runs to go along with three strikeouts in five innings. Haubner only walked one prior to Keaton Bell pounding the strike zone for two shutout innings, finishing with one hit, one strikeout and no walks.

“That’s two really solid outings for AJ — a guy who knows his stuff,” Lavy said. “He doesn’t have 84 to blow by somebody. He does a really good job of changing speeds, working on corners and staying ahead of counts.”

North Callaway puts its 2-0 EMO record to the test against reigning conference champion Bowling Green (2-2, 1-1 EMO), who was 10-0 in conference last season, at 5 p.m. Tuesday.