Springfield Secures First Half Title

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, MO - Joshua Baez hit two home runs and drove in five Thursday night as the Cardinals upended Corpus Christi, 7-1, before 3,335 fans at Hammons Field.

Springfield, the first Texas League club to win 40 games, went 14-2 down the stretch to clinch a postseason berth with three contests remaining in the half.

Hooks right-hander Ethan Pecko worked 4 2/3 innings, his longest outing in four starts since opening the season on the IL. After permitting two markers in the first, Pecko retired eight in a row before Baez struck for a long home run.

Dakota Harris closed the book on Pecko by working a lead-off walk in the fifth. Harris advanced to third on two ground balls before scoring via a wild pitch.

Zach Cole accounted for the lone Corpus Christi run, crushing a 408-foot home run out to left-center. Cole, hailing from nearby Ozark, Missouri, has five home runs in 36 games with the Hooks this season.

Zach Cole puts the Hooks on the board with a homerun! pic.twitter.com/XI6BkLunok

— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) June 20, 2025

CC outhit the Cards, 8-7, but stranded nine on base.

Wes Clarke, acquired by the Astros via trade with the Brewers this week, reached base in all but one of his four plate appearances, recording a single, double, and walk in his Hooks debut.

Missouri native Trevor Austin notched a single and a double from the lead-off spot, upping his Double-A batting average to .265. Austin is 7-for-16 (.438) with five extra-base hits over his last four games.

Bryce Willits also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 from the nine hole.