PITTSBURG, Kan. — Carl Junction (17-9) scored five runs in the first three innings on the way to a 6-3 win over St. Mary’s Colgan to close the regular season at Jaycee Ballpark on Tuesday.
After Carson Johnson walked before coming around to score the game’s first run to open the first inning, Dylan Eck pushed the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single through the left side to plate Drew Beyer. Drendyn Downs singled home a run in the next at-bat to push the lead to three.
Colgan answered with a run in the second in the form of an RBI single by Janko Kalan, but Carl Junction answered back in the third with a pair of run-scoring doubles. Alex Baker doubled to center to score Noah Southern, while Downs doubled to center to score Baker with two outs to extend the lead to 5-1.
Johnson scored in the fourth on error to put the lead at 6-1.
Colgan added a run in the sixth and a run in the seventh off an RBI single from Caleb Hamilton to trim the lead in half.
Baker earned the win on the mound after allowing one unearned run on six hits, two walks and five strikeouts in three innings. Noah Southern pitched three innings of relief and allowed one run on five hits, two walks and three strikeouts. Kyler Perry pitched one inning of relief and allowed one run on three hits and a strikeout.
Downs had three hits, including a double, and two RBI to lead the Bulldogs. Baker doubled, drove in one and scored one. Beyer had two hits and scored a run.
Carl Junction hosts Neosho in the first round of Class 5 District 6 play at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
ROGERS, Ark. — The Carthage Tigers simply couldn’t get the bats going in a 7-1 loss at Rogers on Tuesday.
The Tigers (8-18) were limited to two hits, one apiece by Sylas Browning and Kaden Kralicek.
Carthage plated a run in the second, as Browning doubled and later scored on an error after Max Templeman’s bunt.
The Mounties tied the game with a single tally in the bottom of the second.
Rogers then plated two runs apiece in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a comfortable 7-1 lead.
Ty Frakes went 3-for-3 with two runs scored for Rogers (22-7), while Noah Goodshield added two hits and an RBI.
Danny Burns pitched five innings for the Mounties and allowed two hits. Karsen Uecker and Braxton Haywood tossed one scoreless inning apiece.
Carthage’s Kaden Arr took the loss, but he only allowed three runs on three hits in four innings. Mason Utter allowed four runs on six hits in two innings.
Carthage meets Republic at 4 on Monday in Springfield in an opening round game of the Class 6 District 6 tournament.
On the night she and her classmates were recognized, senior Mya Johnson recorded a pair of goals as the Joplin High School girls soccer team defeated Neosho 2-1 on Tuesday at the JHS athletic complex.
The Eagles celebrated Senior Night, and Johnson did her part to make sure the hosts earned a win.
Johnson scored on a free kick in the eighth minute. Johnson’s second goal came in the 28th minute and was assisted by Kayla Talbot.
Avery Renfro scored Neosho’s goal in the 30th minute. Erika Ornelas assisted on the play.
Joplin (7-11, 1-8 COC) had nine shots on-goal and Neosho goalkeeper Shelby Roberts made seven saves.
Neosho (8-13, 0-9 COC) recorded seven shots on-goal and JHS senior Reece Schroer made six saves.
Joplin hosts McDonald County at 6:30 on Thursday. Neosho meets Carl Junction next Monday in a district tournament clash.
Top-seeded Thomas Jefferson defeated fourth-seeded Belton 5-0 and second-seeded Webb City topped third-seeded Carl Junction 5-0 in semifinal contests of the Class 2 District 7 boys tennis tournament on Tuesday.
For the Cavaliers, Noah Hamlett and Tyler Brouhard defeated Irk Irvin-Jacob Dolphin 8-4, Ian Ding and Hari Nagarajan beat Xavier Diamond-Caden Petzold 8-0 and Christopher Wheelen-Lele Qian beat Carson Dent-Omar Martinez 8-0.
In singles, Hamlett defeated Dolphin 6-0, 6-1 and Prithvi Nagarajan defeated Martinez 6-0, 6-0.
The Cavaliers will host the Cardinals at 3 on Wednesday for the district championship.
AURORA, Mo. — Webb City rode a big first inning to a 6-1 win over Aurora on Tuesday in a clash between state-ranked teams.
The Cardinals pushed across four runs in the first inning and added a single tally in both the second and third innings.
The Houn’ Dawgs scored their lone run in the sixth.
Ranked third in Class 5, Webb City hiked its record to 23-5. Ranked fourth in Class 4, Aurora slipped to 16-7.
Senior center fielder Devrin Weathers recorded his 51st hit of the season, a new single-season school record.
Senior shortstop Treghan Parker had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Parker hit his seventh home run of the season.
Shane Noel and Matt Woodmansee had two hits apiece for the Cardinals.
Eric Fitch was the winning pitcher. He went five innings and allowed just one unearned run on one hit while striking out six. Cooper Crouch tossed two scoreless innings in relief, striking out two.
Trey Mulholland took the loss after allowing six runs on 11 hits in seven innings. He struck out two and walked three.
Jaesik Friggle had Aurora’s lone hit, while Mulholland had his team’s only RBI.
In the four-run first, Parker doubled to center and scored on Noel’s RBI single to left.
Woodmansee then drove in Noel with a run-scoring single to left. Woodmansee later scored on Aiden Brock’s sacrifice bunt before Cade Wilson contributed an RBI groundout.
Parker homered to right in the second.
Eli Goddard delivered an RBI single to right in the third for a 6-0 lead.
In the sixth, Friggle singled to left, went to second on an error and then took third on a fly out.
If you subscribe to the notion that baseball is poetry in motion then you’ll certainly appreciate the ending to Joplin’s final home game of the season.
On a day where the weather felt more like the first game of the season than the second-to-last, Joplin honored its seniors in the best way possible after the Eagles earned a 1-0 walk-off win over Lamar thanks to senior Fielding Campbell’s bases-loaded fielder’s choice in the bottom of the seventh inning on Tuesday at the JHS Athletic Complex.
“You want them to have a positive memory of walking off the field the last time they get to play a game here,” Joplin coach Kyle Wolf said. “I don’t know if there is anything more exciting or memorable than a walk-off win.”
Joplin senior Fielding Campbell celebrates with teammates after coming up with a walk-off fielder’s choice in the Eagles’ win over Lamar on Senior Night. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Campbell came up with the game-winning at-bat to earn the victory for Joplin, hitting a bases-loaded chopper to the left side of the drawn-in infield that allowed Justin McReynolds to beat the throw home with a head-first slide to push across the winning run.
“It was a great feeling,” Campbell said of the win. “It was a slow game for us today. We couldn’t really get anything going. We knew we were going to have to grind something out. In the seventh inning, we knew we had to put something on the board. The first couple of batters really just battled out at-bats and found a way to get on. I came up and on my first two pitches I had the idea of hitting a line drive but I fell behind early, so I had to choke up and find a way to put something in play.”
With both offenses failing to reach the scoreboard through the first 39 outs of the game, the Eagles started the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff walk. Small ball played a big role in loading the bases, as Brady Mails and senior Carson Wampler dropped down back-to-back perfect bunts down the first-base line that were intended to be sacrificial before both runners beat them out for base hits.
“We’ve talked about it all year,” Wolf said. “It doesn’t have to be a huge, dynamic type of thing that gets the job done. Sometimes, it’s very simply putting pressure on people by getting bunts down and putting the ball in play. … Eventually, if you keep putting the ball in play, you feel like you are going to break through.”
After an infield fly for an out, Campbell found himself in an early 0-2 hole before battling his way to the walk-off fielder’s choice.
“Fielding is a grinder and a competitor,” Wolf said. “He got down with two strikes and I felt confident he was going to put the ball in play somewhere. With the infield in, if he can put the ball in play, we have a chance. … Justin got a great break from third and had a good read on it and was able to get there.”
Joplin’s Justin McReynolds slides into home to score the winning run in the Eagles’ walk-off victory over Lamar on Tuesday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
SENIOR NIGHT
Prior to the game, Joplin held Senior Night ceremonies for Campbell, Wampler, David Fiscus, Kirk Chandler, Josh Harryman, Alex Curry and Kohl Cooper. “That is a pretty special group,” Wolf said of his seniors. “I was talking with the coaches before the game, and that is the first group that we’ve had for four years. … That is a pretty special group. I am not going to lie to you, when I look out there and see them, knowing they’ve been with us all that time, there was a high pollen count in the air I guess. … I am very proud of them for grinding that one out.”
“It was really cool,” Campbell said when asked how it felt for the senior class to win in a walk-off in the final home game. “We have been playing together for at last eight or nine years now. It’s a really cool feeling and it’s been a fun ride. Hopefully, we can keep it going into districts.”
ON THE MOUND
Normally the team’s back-end option out of the pen, Harryman opened the game for the Eagles and earned a no-decision after holding the Tigers scoreless without allowing a hit and striking out three in two innings.
“Josh got the start tonight and that’s out of his element a little bit,” Wolf said. “When you do that, the routine is different and things like that. I thought he competed well.”
Joplin senior Josh Harryman delivers a pitch to home in the Eagles’ win over Lamar on Tuesday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Chandler, who retired nine straight to end the game, earned the win after blanking Lamar over five full innings on one hit, no walks and seven strikeouts.
“Kirk came out and just was really good,” Wolf said. “Kirk was the Kirk Chandler that we know he can be tonight. He pounded the zone and threw his curveball for strikes. He did a really good job.”
Missouri Southern commit Case Tucker started for Lamar and didn’t allow a run in three innings, giving up four hits and striking out two. Stetson Wiss pitched three no-hit innings and struck out two. Ryan Davis took the loss after allowing one run on two hits and a walk in 1/3 of an inning.
IN THE BOX
In a game that saw seven combined hits, Joplin finished with six of them. Curry led the Eagles with a 2-for-3 game, while Cooper, Harryman, Mails and Wampler all recorded base hits. Campbell had the lone RBI of the game, while McReynolds scored the only run.
Cade Griffith had the only hit for Lamar in the loss.
SCHEDULE CHANGE
The win against Lamar was originally scheduled as Joplin’s final regular game of the season. Joplin will now travel to Bolivar for a matchup on Thursday to wrap the regular season.
“Late in the year, you want to play more than you want to practice,” Wolf said about adding the game against the Liberators. “It’s an opportunity to play against a good program. Anytime you can do that, you take advantage of it.”
Joplin senior Kirk Chandler delivers a pitch to home during the Eagles’ win over Lamar on Tuesday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
DISTRICTS LOOMING
Joplin earned the fifth seed in the Class District 6 tournament. The Eagles square off against fourth-seeded Lebanon at 1:30 p.m. on May 17 at Springfield Central.
NEOSHO, Mo. — A pair of four-run innings propelled Seneca to an 8-1 win over Neosho on Tuesday at Roy B. Shaver Field.
Seneca improved to 14-11, while Neosho fell to 4-22.
The Wildcats pushed across a single tally in the first inning, as Brett Slavens walked and later scored on Wyatt Keplar’s two-out RBI single to center. The hosts would not score again.
The Indians took the lead by plating four runs with two outs in the fourth.
Drew Sampson and Lance Stephens hit back to back doubles to tie the game at one.
After Connor Ackerson walked, Lincoln Renfro lined a two-run single into left before Tanner Nesvold recorded an RBI single through the left side to give Seneca a 4-1 lead.
The Indians extended their lead with a four-run fifth.
Titus Atkins singled and later scored on a wild pitch and Alex Stephens added a sac fly.
Nesvold delivered a two-run single into right, giving the Indians an 8-1 advantage.
Nesvold drove in four runs on two hits, while Sampson had two RBI and scored twice.
Lance Stephens started and went three innings for the Indians, allowing one run on four hits. Atkins went the final four innings and did not allow a run.
Lane Yost started for Neosho and gave up four runs on five hits and four walks in 3 2/3 innings.
Carter Fenske and Slavens both pitched in relief for the Wildcats.
At the plate, Neosho was limited to six singles and a double from Ryan Cargile.
Seneca meets Mount Vernon at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Class 4 District 12 tournament.
Neosho is at Carl Junction at 5 on Tuesday in the opening round of the Class 5 District 6 tournament.
