MONMOUTH – Nearly three weeks ago, Monmouth suffered a tough extra-inning loss at the hands of Dirigo.

Little did the Mustangs know it at the time, but that loss would come in handy when the fifth-seeded Cougars traveled to Chick Field for the rematch in the Western Class C quarterfinals.

Using a scouting report developed from that May 15 loss, Monmouth pitcher Josh Stroup yielded just four hits and fanned 15 to propel the fourth-seeded Mustangs to a 6-1 win Wednesday.

“Last time we played them, (Brian) Gardner pitched, and they really weren’t swinging at the curve ball, so I knew I had to throw it for strikes,” Stroup said.

Stroup went to his curve ball more later in the game, and the strikeouts followed. He fanned seven of the last 11 batters he faced, including a game-ending whiff when he got pinch-hitter Jon Pineau to look at three straight curve balls for strikes.

“His curve ball was breaking better later in the game. I think he throws it better when he’s a little tired. He doesn’t try to muscle it as much,” Monmouth coach Keith Morang said.

Stroup hit his spots well, walking only two all day. The same could not be said for Dirigo starter Cory Wing, who was uncharacteristically wild, hitting four batters and uncorking three wild pitches in just two-and-one-third innings of work.

“Right from the beginning, he didn’t have his control today,” Dirigo coach Al McGregor said of Wing. “When he’s warming up before the game, he’s usually hitting his spots. The assistant coach said he was all over the place today, and it showed with him hitting four batters out there.”

Wing got the Cougars (11-6) off to a fast start, leading off the game with a single and stealing second and third before scoring on Craig Langervin’s RBI single that made it 1-0.

It appeared the momentum would continue to go Dirigo’s way in the bottom of the first when shortstop Gary Holman took a cutoff throw from left field on Stroup’s base hit and made a perfect throw to Brandon Berry at the plate to nail Sean Holbrook with the potential tying run. Jon Retelle made sure the lead stayed temporary, though, when he drove in Stroup with an RBI single.

“That’s been the difference with us the whole second half of the season,” Morang said. “We started out 3-3 and we wouldn’t have done something like that back then. Now, we know it’s a seven-inning game and we’ve got enough players to do the job. We just keep plugging away.”

Wing hit the next two batters after Retelle to load the bases, but worked his way out of the jam. He was not so fortunate in the second, however, when he plunked Stuart Isaacson to lead off the inning. Isaacson moved to second on a grounder back to the pitcher, went to third on a wild pitch, then scored on another wild pitch to give the Mustangs the lead for good.

Monmouth (12-5) scored four times in the third with the help of another hit batter, an RBI single by Kyle Pelletier and an RBI double by Isaacson. Shane Donovan came on in relief of Wing and shut the Mustangs down the rest of the way, but the five-run deficit was too much to make up against Stroup.

“Our pitching has carried us all through the year, and it wasn’t there early in the game,” McGregor said. “Stroup was just untouchable today.”

The Mustangs will face the winner of today’s quarterfinal between Winthrop and St. Dom’s in the semifinals on Saturday.

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