The Webb City Cardinals set a tone very early on during their Central Ozark Conference game Tuesday against the host Carthage Tigers at historic Joe Becker Stadium.
Webb City leadoff man Sam Weller hit a single to right to open the game and then on his first offering from Carthage starter Nolan Brown, Cy Darnell connected on a two-run home run to left to open the scoring.
The Cardinals plated one run in the sixth, two in the first, second and fifth, three in the third, and four in the seventh on their way to a commanding 14-1 win over their historical rival.
“That’s going to jump-start your offense any time you get a hit from your first guy and then second guy first pitch boom home run,” Webb City coach Andrew Doennig said. “That’s great to see out of Cy. He’s swinging it well.”
Darnell finished 3-for-4 at the plate with his opening two-run homer, a RBI single in the fifth, and a bunt single in the seventh extending his hitting streak to nine games. He worked a walk in the second and was denied a potential extra-base hit and surefire RBI on a diving catch from Carthage junior right fielder Mason Adams in the third.
Joe Becker’s right field area has long been a source of nightmares for right fielders at every level from prep school to professional, but definitely not for Adams on Tuesday.
Adams’ two great catches in right, the first against Darnell and the second against Shaun Hunt in the fifth that denied the Cardinals more scoreboard damage, proved to be the highlights for the Tigers during a game when they committed six errors, including three alone in the second.
Adams’ play in right inspired the utmost respect from their opponents Tuesday.
“Oh man, that kid, that was tremendous,” Doennig said. “This is a very, very difficult place to right field. Number one, because of the sun. Number two, because of that hill. He made two diving catches. Very good outfield plays by that kid.”
Webb City starter Kaylor Darnell earned the win with five shutout innings, then Cy Darnell and Gage Chapman pitched the sixth and seventh, respectively.
“Kaylor wasn’t as sharp as last time but he battled through it and did a good job,” Doennig said. “Cy, that’s the first time he’s been on the mound ever in a game like this, so that’s just something that we’ve wanted to do for a while, and we had an opportunity to do it. Gage, he’s another senior that we’ve had limited opportunities to come in with him being our center fielder and whatnot. It’s all about getting these guys on the mound, getting them prepared, and getting them some innings to help us later on down the road.”
Kaylor Darnell allowed no runs on one hit and had three strikeouts and three walks over five innings, Cy Darnell allowed one run (earned) on two hits with no strikeouts and one walk in his one inning, and Chapman allowed one hit and struck out two and walked one in his one inning. Cy Darnell and Chapman each finished with 19 pitches during their mound time.
The Cardinals scored their 14 runs on 15 hits and six Carthage errors, with Chapman and Weller RBI singles in the third, a Drew Vonder Haar double in the fourth, a Kenley Hood RBI triple in the sixth, and a Weller RBI double and a Hunt RBI single in the seventh among their other offensive highlights.
Weller and Cy Darnell each finished with three RBI, while Weller, Cy Darnell, Hood, William Hayes, and Chapman each scored two runs.
Webb City improved to 11-6 overall and 4-0 COC, and the Cardinals are back on the road Thursday against COC foe Nixa, one of the elite high school baseball programs in Missouri.
“If it’s Carthage or Joplin or whoever it is, all wins are good wins,” Doennig said. “They’re not easy and you can’t take any of them for granted. We got another game Thursday with Nixa, arguably they’re the best team in our conference and maybe the best team in this area. They’re very well-coached, a good team, and just looking forward to the opportunity to play those guys on Thursday.”
The Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association released the latest rankings Tuesday and Webb City’s next three opponents make up half of the top six teams in Class 6 — fourth-ranked Rock Bridge (17-2), fifth-ranked Francis Howell (15-5), and sixth-ranked Nixa (14-2).
Webb City, receiving votes in Class 5, hosts both Rock Bridge and Francis Howell on Saturday.
Carthage sophomore Bradyn Tate reached on a walk to start the sixth and sophomore Langston Morgan and senior Clay Kinder loaded the bases with Tigers on consecutive singles. Tate then scored Carthage’s lone run on a 6-3 double play turned against Ty Perry, avoiding the run-rule and extending the game to the full seven.
Tate, Morgan, Kinder, and Ethan Stark each had one of the Tigers’ four hits.
Brown took the loss with seven runs (two earned) allowed on six hits with one strikeout and two walks over three innings, while Brodie Cole allowed seven runs (five earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts and two walks during his four innings of relief.
Carthage fell to 3-14 overall and 0-4 COC, and the Tigers will attempt to end their six-game losing streak when they travel to Republic on Wednesday.
