If the Karns City baseball team was looking ahead, it didn't show it.

The Gremlins scored seven runs in the first inning and cruised to a 10-0 mercy-rule win over Union at Kelly Automotive Park Wednesday night.

Karns City is scheduled to clash with Moniteau at Kelly this afternoon.

“I told them at the beginning of the week we have to stay mentally focused all week,” said Karns City coach Randy Collins. “I told them it's going to be a long week, finishing up with Moniteau, which is always a big game, a rivalry. I told them not to even think about Moniteau.”

All the Gremlins were thinking about against Union was getting on base.

And running.

They did both with great frequency, banging out eight hits, walking three times and swiping seven bases.

Wyatt Everetts picked up the win on the mound, striking out four and giving up just one hit in three innings. He also had a pair of singles, a triple and scored three runs.

Eric Dodd worked the final two innings for Karns City.

Union pitcher Jordan Krear got the loss, but wasn't helped by his defense behind him. The Golden Knights committed four errors in the first inning that led to all seven runs being unearned.

“He did a great job,” Union coach Al Carmichael said. “That's what we were expecting from him.”

Union (4-9) had been playing better of late, Carmichael said.

“We knew the season was going to be tough because we're young — we have a lot of first-year players,” Carmichael said. “We struggled early, but we have continued to progress. We had a little setback today.”

Karns City (12-2) has a way of doing that, even though Collins wasn't completely pleased.

He said his team hit too many pop-ups.

“We have to hit hard line drives somewhere,” Collins said. “We play at (Kelly Automotive Park). We can't hit sky balls. Even if we hit it 400 feet, it's still not out of here in this park.”

The performance of Everetts and Dodd was a good sign for a team that lost Holden Martin again with a dislocated left elbow.

Martin had come back from the same injury, suffered during basketball season, and was pitching well and playing well at second base.

This latest injury will shelve him for the remainder of the season.

“Holden is going to be missed, obviously,” Collins said. “The glove, the bat, coming in on the mound, every aspect of it. But that's why we're a team. That's why you carry more than nine.”

Union 000 00x x — 0 2 4

Karns City 701 11x x — 10 8 0

One out when mercy run scored

W: Wyatt Everetts 3IP (4K, 1BB). L: Jordan Krear 4.1IP (2K, 3BB).

Union (4-9): Brandon Spencer 2B, Brett Trihart 1B

Karns City (12-2): Nathan Weckerly 3-1B 2-RBI, Tyler Kepple 1B RBI, Mike Riley 1B RBI, Alessandro Marotto 1B RBI, Wyatt Everetts 2-1B 3B RBI, Dillin Geibel 1B RBI

Thursday: Karns City vs. Moniteau at Kelly Automotive Park, 4:15 p.m.

Friday: Union at Moniteau