SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — No excuses. That was the message Joplin coach Kyle Wolf had for his team before they stepped off the bus on Monday to open district play.
After defeating fourth-seeded Lebanon on a rain-drenched field in the opening round, the fifth-seeded Eagles once again battled the elements on the way to defeating top-seeded Kickapoo 7-1 in the Class 6 District 6 semifinals on Wednesday at Central Ballpark to earn a trip to the district championship round.
“We’ve said all year that we wanted to be playing our best at the end of the year,” Wolf said. “These have probably been two of our more complete games. I can’t speak enough about the toughness those guys have shown in the elements against good baseball teams. There have been no excuses. We said it at the beginning and that’s the way they’ve played this week. No excuses, and we are just going to get after it to try to stay and play another day.”
Playing in a steady downpour for much of the game, Joplin (20-10) broke through on the scoreboard first with a single tally in the second inning before the offense erupted for six runs in the top of the third inning to take a stranglehold on the lead, 7-0. With senior Kohl Cooper dealing on the mound, Kickapoo (24-9) was held off the scoreboard through the first six innings. The Chiefs scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and had the bases loaded with one out before senior Josh Harryman closed the door on any comeback attempt with a punchout followed by a lineout on the infield to end the game.
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND
Joplin will take on second-seeded Republic in the district title game at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Central Ballpark. Republic defeated Ozark 6-3 in the other semifinal game.
ON THE MOUND
On a day where getting a grip on the baseball was nearly impossible because of the constant rain, Cooper was dominant on the bump for Joplin after tossing 6 ⅓ innings of one-run baseball to earn the win. He scattered five hits, walked three and struck out five in perhaps the strongest start of his career, which couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Well, that’s a senior that stepped up in a big game and flat got it done, man,” Wolf said of Cooper’s outing. “I couldn’t be more proud of that kid. I have seen him be really good this year and I just felt like if he was that guy, he had the stuff to come out and beat a really, really good team in Kickapoo. He had his stuff today in really tough conditions and just competed his tail off.”
Harryman pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed two hits, walked one and struck out one.
Zach McKinnis took the loss after allowing seven runs on five hits and three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. Cross Kubik didn’t allow a run in 4 2/3 relief innings. He surrendered three hits, walked three and struck out one.
GAME ACTION
After a scoreless first inning, Joplin senior Alex Curry led off the top of the second with a single on a line drive past the third baseman. Two batters later, sophomore Justin McReynolds singled to right field to move Curry to second. A groundout from senior Fielding Campbell advanced both runners 90 feet. With two outs, junior Ethan Guilford hit a chopper to the left side that turned into a Kickapoo fielding error, allowing Guilford to reach and Curry to score for a 1-0 lead.
Joplin took all of the momentum in the third inning. Junior Bodee Carlson singled to right and senior Carson Wampler reached on a fielder’s choice. Two batters later, Curry singled up the middle to plate Carlson and push the lead to two. Senior David Fiscus reached on another Chiefs’ error, which scored the Eagles’ third run of the game. McReynolds followed with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Curry and extend the lead to 4-0. After Campbell loaded the bases with a single to center, Guilford cleared them with a line-drive double to right field to score three runs and push the advantage to 7-0.
“That early first run to take the lead was huge,” Wolf said. “To go put a six spot up in the third, that is a great job by our guys. Just a lot of really good at-bats and executing. We have been working with (Ethan) all year on the understanding you have to hit the ball the other way and he comes up and laces one down the right-field line to score three. That was a huge at-bat.”
Looking to strike back and steal some momentum away, Kickapoo loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third inning. Cooper had other plans, striking out back to back hitters, the second looking, to end the inning and the Chiefs’ only real threat of cutting into the deficit until the seventh frame.
“It’s such a game of momentum sometimes,” Wolf said. “The same as getting those early runs gives us a little momentum, keeping them from scoring right there gives us a lot of confidence moving forward. And, we’ve got a little bit of momentum that we are carrying onto the offensive end.”
“It was a magical moment for me today,” Cooper said of his back to back punchouts. “I knew God was on my side today. He always is, but I felt the presence of Him today in a situation like that against an amazing team.”
Working quickly in the rain, Cooper relied heavily on the fastball in the third inning to get himself out of the jam, and continued that usage throughout the remainder of his outing.
“It started in the third,” Cooper said when asked at what point the moisture prevented him from finding the grip on his breaking ball. “It started to get a little loopy. … When the water gets on the ball like that it just spins out of my hand. The fastball, I was just spotting it up. That was the key today.”
Kickapoo got on the board in the seventh when Cole Murrel singled with the bases loaded to plate Shane Cummings, trimming the Eagles’ lead to 7-1. Harryman struck out Luke Quackenbush and got Carter Vienhage to line out to end the game.
IN THE BOX
McReynolds led Joplin at the plate with three hits, including a double, an RBI and a run scored. Guilford doubled in one of his two hits and drove in a team-high three runs. Curry had two hits, scored a team-high two runs and drove in one. Campbell and Carlson each had a hit and scored a run.
Vienhage and Murrell had two hits each to lead Kickapoo.
