Thursday night started off with great weather and a great ballgame as the Route 66 Stars looked to widen their first-place lead as the battled the Queen City Crush to finish off their weekday series.

Mother Nature was good to the Show Me League for the first six innings of Thursday night’s game but reared her ugly head in the top of the seventh as the lightning and rain forced the six-inning final.

Drury’s Balyor Hinz started on the mound for the Crush and threw 5 and 1/3 innings giving up 7 hits and 2 earned runs with 4 strikeouts. The Stars countered with Southwest Tennessee Community College’s Brayden Green. Brayden threw well going 4 innings allowing 3 hits, no walks and six strikeouts on the evening. Green leads the league with a 0.00 era through 12 innings. Unsigned Colby Eckhoff finished off the game throwing 2 innings of relief giving up 1 hit, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts.

The Stars were led offensively by Drury’s Collin Fraley who was 2-3 with 3 RBI’s. Fraley now leads the league with a .522 average. The Crush had four players with one hit a piece.

Both teams play again this Sunday as they play a split double header against the Ozark Generals of the Mink League.

The Route 66 Stars improved their record to 8-3-1 while the Queen City Crush fall to 4-7.