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SHOWDOWN: Solid overall performance lifts No. 2 Webb City past No. 6 Carl Junction

By:
Jason Peake

 

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — A clash between state-ranked close rivals went Webb City’s way.

Ranked second in Class 5, Webb City took the lead early and added plenty of insurance late on the way to a convincing 11-5 win over sixth-ranked Carl Junction on Tuesday in Central Ozark Conference baseball action.

For the Cardinals, it was a solid overall performance.

“It was a big win,” Webb City coach Flave Darnell said, noting conference and district implications. “Carl Junction just had a big win against Willard. Carl Junction is a great team. They’ve got really good pitching and we were fortunate to get some timely hits today.”

“Credit to Webb City,” Carl Junction coach Jake Stevenson said. “They’re athletic, they run the bases well and they put pressure on the defense. We weren’t able to stop the bleeding when we needed to early and they were. It was a learning experience for our guys.” 

The Cardinals improved to 15-5 overall and 4-2 in the COC, while the Bulldogs fell to 12-6 and 3-2 COC in conference action. 

Webb City’s Cole Gayman was the winning pitcher on Tuesday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

Getting production from up and down the batting order, Webb City scored its 11 runs on 13 hits. The Cardinals pushed across runs in four different innings and threatened in every frame.

“I thought we did some damage at the bottom of our lineup,” Darnell said, noting bunting and drawing walks were keys. “Those (7-8-9) guys have been turning the lineup over and we’ve got some guys at the top of our lineup that can do some damage. Their pitchers struck us out 10 times today, but we battled when we needed to to get guys on and put some pressure on them.”  

Another key to victory was the fact that Webb City senior right-hander Cole Gayman had a stellar outing on the mound. 

A Missouri Southern recruit, Gayman scattered three hits and did not allow an earned run while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings.

“I thought Cole Gayman pitched a heck of a game,” Darnell said. “He attacked the zone early. We made the defensive plays when we needed to and it was a good win.”

The Bulldogs managed just one baserunner in the first three frames and plated only a single tally against Gayman through five innings. 

“Credit to Cole Gayman,” Stevenson said. “He’s an outstanding arm and he did a nice job today. He kept us off-balance. We were attacking first pitch strikes and just weren’t able to get our timing down. We had some quick innings and he was able to settle in.”

 

GAME RECAP

A pair of extra-base hits allowed the Cardinals to push across a single tally in the first inning, as Treghan Parker tripled to right field and later scored on Matt Woodmansee’s RBI double to left.

The visitors added three runs in the second. Eli Goddard reached on a dropped third strike and went to second on Aiden Brock’s sacrifice bunt. Jeremiah Leaming then delivered an RBI single to left. After Eric Fitch singled, he charged home on Devrin Weathers’ run-scoring triple into right-center. 

Weathers later sprinted home from third on a wild pitch, giving the Cardinals a four-run cushion.

Carl Junction finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth.

Noah Southern reached on an error, stole second and went to third on another Webb City miscue. Southern scored on Dylan Eck’s bunt, beating Gayman to the plate.

The score remained 4-1 until the top of the sixth when the Cardinals erupted for five runs.

The big inning started off when Brock drew a walk, chasing Carl Junction starting pitcher  Drew Beyer.

After Leaming sacrificed, Fitch and Weathers both reached on infield singles, loading the bases. Parker then lined a two-run single into right.

After Shane Noel walked, two runs crossed the plate on a CJ error. 

A bunt off the bat of Gayman allowed another run to score, giving Webb City a comfortable 9-1 advantage.

“Aiden was down 0-2 in the count and he battled and battled to get a leadoff walk and that was huge,” Darnell said. “It was huge to extend the lead. It was good to see our guys come through and get timely hits when we needed it.” 

Down eight runs, the Bulldogs answered with four runs in the bottom half of the sixth. 

With one out, Southern walked, Alex Baker singled and then Eck reached on an error. Goddard replaced Gayman on the mound and he surrendered a bloop RBI single to Brendyn Downs. 

After an out, Keaton Johnson smacked a two-run single to right. Downs later came home on a wild pitch, trimming Carl Junction’s deficit to 9-5. 

Stevenson noted he was proud of his team’s resiliency.

“This group is going to compete and battle,” Stevenson said. “It would have been real easy to give up down 9-1. But our guys did a nice job of trying to put a big inning together. It was just a little too late.”

The Cardinals added two insurance runs in the seventh, as Noel and Woodmansee both contributed RBI singles before Goddard tossed a scoreless bottom half to secure the win.

 

NAMES & NUMBERS

Gayman earned the win. He threw 80 pitches and tossed a first pitch strike to 17 of 23 batters. Goddard went the final 1 2/3 and allowed one run on three hits while striking out one.

Seven different players had hits for Webb City. 

Fitch and Weathers had three hits apiece for the Cardinals, while Parker and Woodmansee contributed two hits apiece. 

Woodmansee drove in four runs, while Parker had two RBI. 

Beyer took the loss, but he struck out nine while allowing six hits and five earned runs. Carson Johnson and Eck pitched in relief.

All six of Carl Junction’s hits were singles. Beyer, Southern, Baker, Eck, Downs and Keaton Johnson had one hit apiece. 

 

NOTES: These two teams could see each other again, as the Cardinals and Bulldogs are both in Class 5’s District 6.

Both squads hit the road on Thursday, as Webb City is at Nixa and Carl Junction is at Ozark.

 

 

 

Webb City’s Devrin Weathers scores after a wild pitch during Tuesday’s game at Carl Junction. Weathers had three hits and the Cardinals beat the Bulldogs 11-5. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

 

Carl Junction’s Drew Beyer delivers a pitch to the plate against Webb City. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

 

Carl Junction’s Noah Southern reaches first base just ahead of the throw during Tuesday’s game with Webb City. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

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