By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Mustangs enter the final portion of the regular season as the hottest team in the MINK League.
The Mustangs have a league-best record of 24-9, have won their last 12 games at home and they lead the league in runs, RBIs, stolen bases and on-base percentage.
Mustangs manager Johnny Coy says the biggest key to success has been the team settling in and simply having fun.
"Guys are having fun," Coy told St. Joseph Post. "They're just taking it game-by-game and not worried about the playoffs just yet. Just trying to get better everyday and just keep having fun. That's the most important thing."
"When you're in a college summer wood bat league season, it can get long. It's always hot, it can be draining. The guys are just concentrating on having fun and just enjoying each other's company and playing baseball."
The Mustangs swept a pair of home games against the Kansas City Monarchs and Joplin Outlaws over the weekend. The win over the Monarchs this past Friday was a 4-3 walk off.
It's a familiar sensation for St. Joseph - a team that owns six walk off wins this season, including three over the Fourth of July weekend.
Outfielder and third-year Mustang Brady Holden says this team has no quit and has learned to play well as a group.
"We just play well together," he said. "We'll get down early and I think we've had at least five games we've won on walk offs. You can't count us out. We play hard until the last out."
Part of the secret to this success at home is the fans. The Mustangs lead the MINK League in attendance by a wide margin, averaging 2,473 fans per home game. It’s helped the Mustangs to an outstanding 16-4 record at Phil Welch Stadium this summer.
Holden, a Mid-Buchanan and Missouri Western alum, says whether you’re local or not, playing in front of this fanbase is second-to-none.
"It's my favorite part about playing here," Holden said. "I mean, the atmosphere here is insane. We go on the road, but nothing compares to playing here in front of so many fans. Most college kids don't get that experience. So, it's unreal."
Having fun, entertaining the fans and getting reps are all staples of summer league baseball. Still, everyone wants to win the championship at the end.
The Mustangs still have 14 regular season games left, starting with a road trip to Clarinda Monday, before playoffs start in the final week of July.
Coy says the players are enjoying every moment while still keeping their eye on the prize.
"Our guys are really set on it," he said. "They have their minds on it. They're taking it one game at a time, but in the back of their minds, they know if we're playing well at the end of the year, this whole 'never say quit' attitude is going to come in handy toward the end of the year, and hopefully we can end up like we did last year - on top."
Pitcher and Savannah native Braden Berry tossed six innings and earned the win when the Mustangs knocked off Sedalia last year 12-2 for the team’s seventh league championship.
Berry, who has pitched a team-high 28.2 innings in five starts this season, and who leads the team with 30 strikeouts, says trying to become the first team in the league's history to threepeat serves as great motivation to run it back this summer.
"To put yourself in the history books, especially in this great organization, it's something we want to be a part of," Berry said. "You want to go down as something to build your legacy on, but to do something special like a threepeat would be amazing."
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