Day: March 23, 2021

Timely hitting with two outs and a stellar performance on the mound from Dylan Eck led Carl Junction to a 10-5 win over Monett on Tuesday at Joe Becker Stadium.

The Cubs (2-1) took the lead with an unearned run in the first before the Bulldogs (3-0) jumped back in front with two runs on two outs in the last of the third. Carl Junction blew the game open with a six-run fourth inning on the way to holding off Monett for the third win in as many games.

“Monett is a very good opponent, and Coach (Michael) Calhoun does a really good job,” Carl Junction coach Jake Stevenson said. “Anytime you can get out of there with a win against Monett, you feel pretty good about it. … They brought a good lefty out there, but we stayed the course and got to their bullpen. Guys did a good job offensively. Defensively, we just have to be a little better.”

Eck earned the win on the mound after allowing two runs, one earned, in six innings of work. He scattered three hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. 

“Dylan Eck is a very composed individual, and not just on the field,” Stevenson said. “But in the classroom and away from the field, too. He is a guy we want to rely on this year. He had a good outing and we expect him to build off of that.”

Marcus Young took the loss after allowing two runs on three hits, three strikeouts and a walk.

Monett jumped out in front in the first inning after a pair of errors on the Bulldogs led to Jason Garner reaching base and touching home for a 1-0 lead.

Carl Junction used two-out magic to take the lead in the third when Noah Southern ripped a ball over the head of the centerfielder in the left-center gap and never stopped sprinting before sliding in head first at the plate for a go-ahead inside-the-park home run. Carson Johnson singled earlier in the inning and scored on the round tripper.

“I think he is waiting to have a breakout year,” Stevenson said of Southern, his catcher. “He is off to a good start. He is a kid who works hard at his craft … he is a good hitter and a good player.”

After a shutdown inning from Eck, Carl Junction went back to work in the bottom of the fourth, scoring six times all with two outs to give the Bulldogs an 8-1 lead. CJ had two-out RBI singles from Brendyn Downs and Alex Baker, while Drew Beyer and Southern added two-out, two-run singles in the frame. 

“We got some guys who can hit,” Stevenson said of his team’s performance at the plate with two outs. “The biggest thing is we don’t want to get too antsy. I thought they stayed patient. It’s great to do it with two outs, and we’re glad we were able to do that, but we need to be better with one out.”

Monett trimmed the lead with an RBI single from Garner in the fifth, but Baker came up with another two-out hit in the sixth, a two-run double to left-center, to push the lead to 10-2.

“High school baseball is about momentum,” Stevenson added. “When you find that momentum, you have to keep it on your side if you are going to win big games down the road.”

Monett crossed home three times in the top of the seventh before the Bulldogs closed the door on the win with Johnson on the mound.

Southern led Carl Junction at the plate with three hits and four RBI, while Baker finished with two hits and three RBI. Beyer had two hits and scored three runs.

Carl Junction hosts Hollister on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m. 

Many baseball teams in Southwest Missouri are struggling to find players with varsity experience for the 2021 season.

Carl Junction is not one of them.

Even though a number of area teams have rosters filled with juniors and seniors, very few of them have experienced varsity baseball because of the lost season a year ago because of the COVID pandemic. For the Bulldogs, however, half of their 10-strong senior class returns with significant varsity experience, particularly when considering the circumstances. 

“I think a lot of teams are in a unique situation when figuring out the dynamics of their team,” Carl Junction coach Jake Stevenson said. “We feel fortunate that we have had some of those players experience game speed at the varsity level.”

Of course, a year lost is still a year lost. So, also like nearly every other team in the area, Carl Junction tried to make up for that lost time with summer games.

“We still missed out on that action last year,” Stevenson added. “We were fortunate to still have a full summer and play 30-plus games. That kind of helped to round them out. In addition to playing last summer, getting that experience as sophomores will certainly help out this season. We are fortunate those guys got to experience that game speed at the varsity level.”

The five seniors returning with varsity experience are OF/P Alex Baker, IF/P Carson Johnson, IF/P Drew Beyer, UT Dylan Eck and C/P Noah Southern. 

Joining them in filling out the senior class IF Keaton Johnson, OF/P Cole Stewart, P/OF Jaxson Mackney, IF/P Lance Smith and IF/OF Brendyn Downs.

“We have 10 seniors, and that’s the biggest senior class I have experienced as a coach,” Stevenson mentioned. “It is a testament to those guys buying into the program.”

Pitching might be the Bulldogs’ biggest strength this season, with Baker, Johnson, Beyer, Eck, Southern, Mackney and Stewart all projected to contribute in some capacity on the mound.

“We feel like we have guys who have worked hard since their sophomore year,” Stevenson said. “They’ve gotten bigger, they’ve gotten stronger and their velocity has gotten better. Really, they just seem to be more comfortable on the mound and are doing a good job of throwing strikes. This big thing is we don’t want guys to press. We want them to settle into each game and fill up the zone. It’s so important to throw strikes, and that is going to be our biggest emphasis this year.”

Offensively, Johnson, Beyer, Southern, Baker and Eck bring the most experience back to the plate. Downs and Stewart also figure to see regular at-bats, as will juniors IF/P Dalton Mills, IF/P Kyler Perry, OF/P Jordan Woodruff and OF Cole Wilson.

“I think our key offensively is just being scrappy,” Stevenson said. “We need to limit strikeouts and put the ball in play. If the opportunity presents itself to have a quality at-bat, even if that is sacrifice fly, scoring a guy from third with a ground ball or laying down a bunt, whatever it is going to take, we have to be selfless at the plate to score guys when we have the opportunity.”

The biggest key for Carl Junction to have success will be playing complimentary baseball. For Stevenson, that means focusing on the fundamentals of baseball.

“My philosophy for baseball is you have to be able to pitch and defend to win games,” Stevenson said. “To accomplish the goals we have for this team, we have to pitch and defend. Offensively, we have to find ways to compliment our pitching and defense and capitalize on those opportunities.”

Expectations are certainly trending up for the Bulldogs this season. With Carl Junction having one the few teams with players who hold meaningful varsity experience and a large group of upperclassmen, the players and coaching staff are anticipating good results in 2021. 

“That senior class has done a really good job of leading in the offseason and moving into practice this season,” Stevenson said. “Not just from them sharing their knowledge, but to reiterate the fact of not taking this game for granted. … That has been the mindset of these seniors, and our juniors have done a good job of listening to those guys.”