The St. Joseph Mustangs earned a big win Thursday as they beat Clarinda 9-6 inside Phil Welch Stadium.

St. Joe’s collegiate summer baseball team moves to within 1.5 games of the A’s for the second playoff spot in the North Division with five games remaining. The Mustangs improve to 22-20 and they’re 18-19 in the MINK League.

St. Joseph built a 5-1 lead after two innings, but Clarinda quickly erased the deficit with three runs in the third and one more in the fourth inning. The two teams traded runs in the sixth and seventh innings, and then the Mustangs broke a 6-6 tie with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Mason Janvrin and Zack Smith drove in three runs each, while Alex Phillips and Brody Santilli added one RBI a piece. Janvrin, Phillips and Easton Fortuna all had two hits to lead St. Joe.

Dawson Smith earned the win in relief, while Gaylon Viney threw a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the season. Starter Corey Cowan allowed four earned runs and seven hits in five innings of work.

The Mustangs play at Phil Welch Stadium again Friday as they host Chillicothe at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN 1550 AM.