Even as the strikeouts mounted Monday, Wright City hurler Austin Meine was still focused on being efficient as possible against Community R-6. “I was trying to throw strikes,” said the junior right-hander. “I wanted them to put the ball in play. It’s hot and I didn’t want to throw so many pitches.” Meine hurled a two-hit shutout and struck out 14 as Wright City backed his solid performance on the mound with a 9-0 home victory over the Trojans. The win was the Wildcats third in a row as they improved to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Eastern Missouri Conference. Following a home game Tuesday, they host Christian on Thursday. Game time is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Meine was in control of Monday’s game. The righty struck out 11 of the first 13 batters he faced, including eight straight at one point, and didn’t give up his first hit until the fifth inning. Though he was tiring late, he concluded the game by striking out the side in the seventh. “We could tell pretty early on (Community was) having trouble with the fastball,” Head Coach Dave Chapman said. “(Meine) dominated the game.” Meine added: I was going to keep throwing my fastball until they hit it.” Wright City collected nine hits in the win, led by a 3 for 4 performance from junior second baseman Carlos Quiles. He also scored a team-high three runs and had one RBI. Austin Marsh, Greg Hobusch and Dallas DeRoy also contributed two hits apiece. Marsh and Hobusch each knocked in two runs. The Wildcats jumped ahead with a run in the first inning and added two more in the second. They were able to break the game open with a three-run fifth. Marsh lined a double to right field to score Quiles. Three batters later, Hobusch doubled to left field to score Marsh and Tyler Tuepker. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Wright City put the game out of reach with three more runs. Quiles had a RBI double in the frame, followed by a two-run single to left field from Marsh. Chapman said he’s been pleased with how his team has performed as of late. “We’ve had a couple of lineup changes, position changes and it has solidified our lineup,” he said. “Defensively and offensively we have come alive. Right now we’re getting good pitching, good defense and timely hitting. If you get those three, you will be successful.” After winning one of the first four games to open the spring season, the Wildcats are hoping to continue riding the momentum from the recent winning streak. “When we get our pitching, our bats and defense on the same page on the same day, I think we can beat anybody,” Meine said. “Early in the year, we would have one or two of them or lacked a third, it’s good to see us getting hot at the right time of the season.”