Snapping a six-game losing streak with an 8-2 victory on the road last Monday in Dent County against Salem’s Tigers, Steven Kemp’s Owensville Dutchmen baseball team traded their aluminum bats for wooden ones over the weekend during the Moberly Wood Bat Invitational played at Moberly High School (MHS) and Moberly Area Community College (MACC).

Opening the tournament the morning of Good Friday, Owensville took on the host Spartans at Omar Bradley Field on the MHS campus.

Turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead through the top half of the fifth inning.

Owensville saw the Spartans answer with two more runs in the bottom half of the fifth before tying the game in the top of the seventh inning at 3-3 on a Tucker Sassmann RBI single and scored Henry Womack.

Two outs away from forcing extra innings, the Dutchmen saw Moberly string together a pair of singles putting them on the wrong end of a 4-3 final score.

After Moberly scored first in the bottom of the second inning, Owensville was able to plate a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning on two hits, a walk and an error.

Bryce Kramme started a two-out rally with a walk before he scored on a Sassmann RBI single that tied the game at 1-1.

Delivering a single of his own after Kramme’s walk, courtesy runner Jax Johnston scored the go-ahead run at the time when Chris Allen reached on an error with two outs.

Johnston replaced Chase Weirich on the base paths after the Dutchmen senior starting pitcher extended OHS’ two-out rally with a single following Kramme’s walk.

Moberly got those two runs back on three hits and a walk to retake the lead at 3-2 after five innings.

Faced with a do-or-die top of the seventh inning, Womack started the frame with a leadoff single before advancing to second base on a Weirich ground out before scoring the aforementioned tying run on a Sassmann RBI single.

Moberly went on to advance to the tournament championship game with a 7-4 win over Schuyler County before falling 6-1 against Liberty (Wentzville) in the title tilt Saturday afternoon.

Later in the day Friday, Owensville took on Greenfield/NW (Illinois) in the consolation semifinals in Moberly.

Putting up single tally marks in the first, second and fifth innings, OHS blew the game open with a five-run bottom of the sixth inning helping them to a 10-0 mercy rule win in six innings.

Gabe Medlock needed just 65 pitches to earn a complete-game victory pitching a two-hit shutout allowing just one walk to go with four strikeouts.

Manning the hot corner at third base, Weirich led off the bottom of the first with a single before scoring on a Sassmann RBI single giving the Dutchmen an early 1-0.

Medlock helped his own cause in the bottom of the second inning reaching base on a hit by pitch before later scoring on a wild pitch doubling his lead to 2-0.

Following a scoreless third inning, Owensville added a pair of runs to their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Allen singled to lead off the frame before Liam Rasmussen entered the game as a courtesy runner for Allen.

Rasmussen then scored on a Medlock RBI single before George Vandegriffe singled and scored on a balk later in the inning doubling the Dutchmen lead to 4-0.

Womack singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth before he crossed the plate when Vandegriffe drew a walk with the bases loaded before singles from Weirich and Allen loaded the bases full of Dutchmen.

Now that one swing of the would not hurt the Dutchmen with a 5-0 lead, Owensville ended the game in the bottom of the fifth inning plating five runs on three hits and a walk.

Reaching base and scoring for the Dutchmen included Khai Krupp, Leyton Homeyer, Sassmann, Payten Pendleton and Elliott Phillips.

Greenfield/NW went on to drop the seventh-place game 10-5 against Macon.

Now awaiting the Dutchmen in the consolation championship game were Chillicothe’s Hornets.

Leading the Hornets 3-2 after three innings, Owensville could not overcome a bottom of the fifth inning where Chillicothe plated seven runs on three hits, three errors and a walk before ending up on the short end of a 10-5 final score.

Down 2-0 after two innings, Owensville took a 3-2 lead with three runs in the top of the third inning on another two-out rally.

Started by a Weirich double, Sassmann singled to place runners at the corners.

Cael Walker then came into the game to replace Sassmann as a courtesy runner.

Weirich ended up scoring when Vandegriffe reached on an error.

Allen caped the two-out rally with a two-RBI single scoring Walker and Vandegriffe putting the orange and black in front 3-2.

Following Chillicothe’s aforementioned seven-run bottom of the fifth inning, Owensville capped the scoring with two runs in the top of the sixth inning when Homeyer walked and scored on a wild pitch before Krupp singled and scored on a Weirich RBI single.

Homeyer took the tough luck loss allowing seven runs (three earned) on four hits, a walk and a strikeout in an inning of relief pitching in favor of Sassmann who earned a no-decision.

During Owensville’s 8-2 victory over Salem in Dent County last Monday, Bryce Kramme earned his first varsity win pitching four innings allowing just one run on four hits and two walks to go with five strikeouts.

Sassmann showed the way against Salem with four hits (all singles), two RBI and a run scored.

Medlock and Krupp also had two hits apiece while Weirich scored a team-high three runs.

Falling 7-4 against Salem’s JV Tigers, Mason Turner and Will Coppedge accounted for both hits for Owensville’s JV Dutchmen.

Pendleton scored twice while Caleb Lottmann and Phillips also crossed the plate for the JV Dutchmen at Salem.

Hosting Sullivan’s Eagles last night (Tuesday) in Four Rivers Conference (FRC) baseball action at OHS Field, Owensville will also host Union’s Wildcats in another FRC diamond showdown tomorrow (Thursday) inside the friendly confines of OHS Field.

Both games will have a 4:30 p.m., first pitch for varsity action.