Salem graduate Noah Nix continues to make a strong impression on the mound this summer for the Batavia Muckdogs.
The Rend Lake College right-hander delivered another dominant outing Monday night, striking out nine batters over four scoreless innings to help lead Batavia to an 8-6 victory over Niagara.
Nix set the tone from the opening pitch, overpowering Niagara hitters with a steady mix of strikes while allowing no runs during his four-inning start. His performance kept the Ironbacks off the scoreboard and gave the Muckdogs the opportunity to build a comfortable lead.
Batavia’s offense responded in a big way behind Evan Brock, who drove in five runs as the Muckdogs built an 8-1 advantage entering the eighth inning.
Niagara made things interesting late. Connor Gaitens, who had broken up the shutout with a seventh-inning home run, came back to the plate in the eighth with the bases loaded and launched a grand slam to suddenly trim the deficit to 8-6.
The late rally was short-lived, however, as Batavia closer Eric Woodley retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning to secure the victory.
For Nix, the outing was another standout performance during his summer campaign. The former Salem standout showed the swing-and-miss ability that made him successful throughout his prep career and continues to develop at Rend Lake College, finishing with nine strikeouts in four scoreless innings while helping the Muckdogs earn the win.
