Joplin hosted Smithville and Nevada for a twinbill on Senior Day, with the Eagles suffering a pair of losses ahead of a lengthy road trip to wind down the season.
“It was a tough couple of losses against two quality teams who have good players up and down their lineup,” Joplin coach Kyle Wolf said. “I thought we competed fairly well in that second game against Nevada. … You take the lessons that you are going to learn from it, show up on Monday, have a good practice and get back after it next week.”
NEVADA 9, JOPLIN 5
Nevada rallied with three runs in the second inning and two in the third to build a four-run lead before Joplin tied the game up at 5-5 with a crooked number in the sixth. Nevada once again rallied with a three-run sixth inning to take control and added an insurance run in the seventh on the way to the win.
“I thought we responded well after a poor Game 1,” Nevada coach Danny Penn said. “We came out ready to swing the bats. I thought Drake (Ketterman), on the mound, did a good job of pitching to contact. For the most part, we were able to make plays behind him. Overall, I thought it was a good performance.”
SENIOR DAY
Before the game against Nevada, Joplin honored nine seniors—Landon Maples, Brady Mails, Jackson Queen, Byler Reither, Justin McReynolds, Layten Copher, Sam Moore, Aiden Kerr and Alex Isbell.
“It is a group where a lot of them are getting an opportunity to go play at the next level next year, so we are excited to see what they do with that,” Wolf said. “You also have guys in this group who are going to travel the world being a welder or HVAC guys. It’s a really neat group, and their personalities certainly are unique. We appreciate their contributions and the time and effort they’ve given to our program.”
ON THE MOUND
Cade Beshore earned the win in relief after pitching three scoreless innings on three hits and one strikeout. Ketterman earned a no-decision after allowing five runs on four hits, three walks and two strikeouts in four-plus innings of work.
Isbell took the loss after allowing four runs on three hits, four walks and a strikeout in 2 1/3 innings. Brecken Green allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits, a walk and five strikeouts in 3 2/3 relief innings. Mails allowed a run on two hits in one relief inning.
GAME ACTION
Joplin opened the game with the scoring, plating a single tally in the top of the first inning after Copher ripped a ball over the head of the center fielder with two outs in the frame to plate Mails, who led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch.
Nevada responded its next time up to bat, crossing home three times in the top of the second inning to take a 3-1 advantage. Barrett Nadurata, Ketterman and Case Sanderson all had RBI singles in the frame.
“That is really big,” Penn said when asked about seeing his team rally twice to earn a win. “That is something that we’ve talked about to our guys since before the first game. When the opposition throws a punch, be ready to throw one back. … We had a couple of big hits today. Over the last two weeks, we have had a lot of different guys step up with those big hits, which is definitely nice to see.”
The Tigers added two more runs in the top of the third inning when Jett Snyder singled past the shortstop to score the runners on second and third for a 5-1 lead.
Joplin rallied in a big way in the last of the fifth inning. The Eagles plated four runs in the inning, with Caden Shoemaker, Reither and Copher all coming up with run-scoring singles in the frame.
“He is swinging the bat really well,” Wolf said of Copher’s day at the plate. “I thought he was on time and didn’t try to do too much. I think that shows him, too, that you don’t have to do too much to drive the ball the way he does. He plugged both gaps throughout the course of the day and when he is doing that, he is a good hitter who is difficult to get out and makes our lineup a whole lot better.”
The Tigers refused to go away, loading the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth before Caden Klumpp gave Nevada the lead once again with a bases-clearing double to make the score 8-5.
“Caden is only a sophomore, and that is something I sometimes lose sight of,” Penn said. “His previous (at-bat) he got a little long in his swing and was trying to do too much. … I was proud of him for getting up there and making the adjustment on his own of shortening his swing. He got a pitch middle-in and got the barrel out in front for a big-time hit.”
AT THE PLATE
Ketterman had two hits, including a double, an RBI and scored a run to lead Nevada at the plate.
Copher finished a home run shy of the cycle, tripling, doubling and singling his way to three hits and three RBI to lead Joplin.
SMITHVILLE 13, JOPLIN 1 (6 INNINGS)
Smithville held a 5-1 lead before scoring eight times in the sixth inning en route to the six-inning win in the opening game on Saturday.
Wryker House earned the win after allowing one run on four hits and two strikeouts in five innings.
Eli Sotlar took the loss after allowing seven runs, six earned, on five hits, three walks and two strikeouts in five innings.
Ryker Edwards had two hits, including a double, and four RBI, while Drake Odneal tripled on the way to two hits and three runs scored to lead Smithville.
Copher had two hits, including a double, and an RBI to lead Joplin at the plate, while Reither had a hit and scored a run.
SMITHVILLE 10, NEVADA 0 (5 INNINGS)
Smithville scored seven runs in the first innings before adding two runs in the second and a run in the third inning on the way to a five-inning win over Nevada in the middle game.
Garrett Pulse earned the win after pitching four scoreless innings on two hits, two walks and three strikeouts in four innings.
Klumpp took the loss after allowing nine runs, five earned, on six hits, two walks and two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings.
Odneal had two hits, including a double, two RBI and scored a run to lead Smithville at the plate.
Sanderson and Blake Woods had doubles for Nevada.
UP NEXT
Joplin (6-15) is at Webb City on Tuesday in Central Ozark Conference action in the first of six straight road games.
Nevada (12-6) hosts Lamar on Tuesday in Big 8 West Conference action.
