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BASEBALL: Webb City earns wins over Battle, No. 7 Kearney

Posted on by Jason Peake

KEARNEY, Mo. — The Webb City Cardinals improved to 15-9 overall on the season and extended their winning streak to four games with a pair of wins Saturday, as they defeated Battle 4-3 and host and seventh-ranked in Class 5 Kearney 8-5.

The host Bulldogs entered their game against Webb City with an eight-game winning streak, including their 7-4 win over Battle in the opening game of the day Saturday, but the Cardinals played spoiler on nine straight.

Webb City found itself in a 5-1 hole after Kearney pushed across one in the first and four in the second, but the Cardinals responded in a decisive fashion and closed out the scoring with seven in the third.

Gage Chapman singled to left to start Webb City’s big inning, Sam Weller sacrificed and reached on an error, and Cy Darnell loaded the bases on a bunt single.

Chapman scored on an error, Weller scored on a sacrifice fly by Shaun Hunt, and Darnell scored on another Kearney error that allowed Kaylor Darnell to reach first.

William Hayes put Webb City ahead 6-5 with a two-run double that scored Payton Marshall and Kaylor Darnell, then Hayes scored on a Kearney error and Chapman finished the game’s scoring in style with an RBI triple bringing home Landon Johnson.

Chapman led Webb City’s eight-hit attack with two, both of which came in the third, and Weller, Cy Darnell, Hunt, Drew Vonder Haar, Kaylor Darnell, and Hayes each had one hit.

Hayes drove in two runs and Chapman, Hunt, and Vonder Haar each picked up RBI, while Weller scored two runs and Cy Darnell, Kaylor Darnell, Hayes, Johnson, Chapman, and Marshall each scored one.

Vonder Haar earned the win and he allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits with one strikeout and four walks over his five innings.

Walker Sweet pitched two scoreless innings of relief and he allowed two hits and finished with five strikeouts and no walks.

Webb City scored six unearned runs against Kearney starter Brycen Morrison, and the Cardinals overcame four errors of their own in their 8-5 win.

Webb City and Battle did all their scoring early during their game, as well, with the Cardinals erasing a 3-2 deficit with two runs in the third.

Marshall and Chapman proved to be a major part of the story against Battle, as they combined to pitch four scoreless innings of relief after starter Luke Beverlin lasted three innings and gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits with two strikeouts and one walk.

Not only did Marshall and Chapman pitch four scoreless, neither pitcher allowed a hit nor walked a Battle hitter during their 41 combined pitches.

Marshall pitched three scoreless and earned the win with two strikeouts and Chapman pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts.

The Cardinals started promisingly offensively against Battle, as Weller hit a leadoff triple on the first offering from Battle starter Raye Kennon and Cy Darnell doubled Weller home seven pitches later for a quick 1-0 lead for Webb City.

Down 2-1, Webb City tied it up in the second when Hayes singled to left, stole second, and scored on a Johnson RBI single.

Cy Darnell led off the Cardinal third with a single, stole second, and scored on an error that also allowed Hunt to reach first. Vonder Haar scored courtesy runner Eli Miller on a single.

Webb City returns home for Senior Night on Tuesday against conference and county rival Joplin, as the Cardinals will attempt to honor their large senior class of players with their fifth straight win overall that would improve them to 16-9 overall and 7-1 in the Central Ozark Conference with only Willard remaining on Thursday.

BASEBALL: Neosho’s late rally falls just short against Branson

Posted on by Jason Peake

NEOSHO, Mo. — The host Neosho Wildcats dug themselves a 7-2 hole Thursday in their Central Ozark Conference game against the visiting Branson Pirates.

Branson plated four runs in the second and three in the fifth, then Neosho rallied back with three runs in the sixth and one in the seventh during a 7-6 win for Branson at Roy B. Shaver Field within the Marion Sports Complex.

The Wildcats had tying run Quenton Hughes on second when Kael Smith flied out to left to end the game.

Nixa scored four runs in the second Tuesday during a 6-1 loss at home for Neosho, and the second inning Thursday mirrored the one two days earlier in that Branson scored four runs on two hits and three walks.

“Not the outcome that we wanted,” Neosho coach Bo Helsel said. “The kids competed today after we got down big early. For the most part this year, we have limited the big innings. Today, we didn’t. They got a four spot, and we probably could have kept it to a two spot. Then they got a three spot and probably could have kept it to one, but that’s baseball sometimes.

“I thought the kids competed well and they worked hard. They stayed in it. We got our bats going after that third inning. Drake (Swift) came in and got a big hit to get us out of the funk and from there on we hit pretty well. That kid (Branson junior pitcher Hunter Jones) is pretty good. He’s sitting 85, probably some of the hardest we’ve seen all year. We’ll try and take some positives from it, but it definitely hurts.”

After being retired in order in the first and second, Neosho junior Drake Swift connected on the Wildcats’ first hit of the game with a single to left and he stole second, but the home team remained scoreless as Jones picked up a pair of strikeouts to retire the side.

With one down in the fourth, Neosho cut a four-run deficit in half after a Wyatt Shadwick ground rule double and an Austin Rodriguez RBI double.

The Pirates answered with three runs on five hits and one Neosho error in the fifth against Rodriguez, who spelled Neosho starter Carter Fenske in relief for one inning.

In the sixth, Rodriguez hit a leadoff single, Hughes reached on a single, and pinch hitter Hudson Williams worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases with Wildcats and just one out. Fenske, hitting between Rodriguez and Hughes, was denied a potential extra-base hit by a diving catch from Branson center fielder Collin Ross.

Swift took one for the team with the bases loaded and Eli Zar contributed a sacrifice fly.

Shadwick led off the seventh with a first-pitch single against Branson side-armed reliever Kyler Lankton and scored on Hughes’ two-out RBI single to draw the Wildcats to 7-6.

Hughes stole second and nearly had another 90 feet to advance were it not for center fielder Ross backing up a throw from catcher Aaron Strohm to nobody at the bag at second.

Smith, who delivered a walk-off single earlier this season in the ninth inning of a 4-3 win against Strafford for the Roy B. Shaver Classic title, just missed on a game-tying hit Thursday.

“It was nice that Shaddy stepped up to hit the first pitch for a hit,” Helsel said. “It got us rolling. Again, it is tough to see from that arm angle. You never see it, especially all the righties coming from behind them. But, for the most part, we competed like we had from the fourth inning on.

“We’ve been coming out a little flat. We’ve got to fix that. I don’t know if it’s our preparation or what it is, but we’ve got to come out and hit a little better early in innings and put some pressure on teams like they did to us. That’s usually a good recipe to get a win.”

In Branson’s four-run inning, Strohm hit a sacrifice fly and Ross a two-run single as the Pirates’ junior center fielder impacted the game both offensively and defensively.

Sam Adkisson, Jones, and Strohm connected with RBI singles in the fifth.

Jones earned the win and Fenske took the loss. Hughes pitched scoreless sixth and seventh in relief to give the Wildcats a chance late.

Hughes led Neosho with three hits and Rodriguez and Shadwick each had two.

Neosho dropped to 13-11 overall and 1-6 COC, and the Wildcats return home Monday for a contest against Hollister.

The Wildcats have two weeks remaining in the regular season and they would like to enter the postseason playing their best baseball. They are 1-7 over their last eight games, including two losses against state-ranked Nixa and one against state-ranked Willard.

“We’ll take the positives from (Thursday),” Helsel said. “We competed, the bats were much better, defense was pretty good, a couple too many walks, but Branson hit the ball so give them credit. We have three games next week. We play Hollister on Monday, so come out and see if we can get it fixed then.”

BASEBALL: Webb City improves to 6-1 in COC with walk-off win over Ozark

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Kaylor Darnell delivered the game-winning hit in the 10th inning and Webb City improved to 6-1 in Central Ozark Conference play by beating Ozark 5-4 in walk-off fashion on Thursday at Chuck Barnes Field. 

The COC marathon was deadlocked at four when the Cardinals finally ended it in the bottom of the 10th inning. In the final frame, Webb City senior first baseman Kenley Hood reached on an error with one out, taking second on the play.  

Next, senior third baseman Kaylor Darnell smacked a line drive down the left field line, Ozark left fielder Brock Dodd was unable to corral the ball and pinch-runner Andrew Elwell scored the game-winning run on the error.

The Cardinals are now 13-9 overall after a second straight COC home victory. 

Webb City senior right-hander Walker Sweet earned the pitching victory. Sweet took over in the eighth and struck out eight straight batters while tossing three scoreless innings in relief. He gave up one hit and hit a batter.

Webb City sophomore right-hander Landon Fletcher started and took a no-decision. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and struck out six in seven innings.  

Senior shortstop Cy Darnell had three hits for the Cardinals.

Ozark scored once in the third inning without recording a hit, as Brady Dodd was hit by a pitch and later scored on an error.

The Cardinals tied it up in the bottom half of the third. With two outs, Sam Weller was hit by a pitch before Cy Darnell singled to right. Weller charged home on Shaun Hunt’s RBI single up the middle.

Webb City took the lead in the fourth.

Hood singled and went to second on a wild pitch. After Kaylor Darnell was retired, William Hayes laid down a bunt and the Tigers threw it away, allowing Hood to score the go-ahead run.

The Cardinals added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth. Cy Darnell singled, Hunt walked and Drew Vonder Haar singled to load the bases with one out. 

A fielder’s choice off the bat of Hood gave the hosts a 3-1 advantage. Next, Eli Miller charged home on a double steal for a three-run lead.

However, the Tigers scored three runs on three hits and a Webb City error in the seventh inning to tie the game. 

Neither team scored in the eighth or ninth.

A Missouri Southern signee, Sweet struck out the side in both the eighth and ninth innings. He struck out two in the 10th, as well, before the hosts rallied in the bottom of the frame.

Ozark fell to 11-11 overall and 2-4 in the COC. 

Ozark’s Hudson Roberts went five innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five. 

Alex Nimmo took the loss after allowing a run in the 10th. He went 4 1/3 innings in relief.

Webb City travels to Kearney on Saturday for a pair of non-conference contests. The Cardinals take on Battle at 1 p.m. and Kearney at 3.

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

BASEBALL: Darnell’s stellar outing leads Webb City past Carl Junction

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — A masterful pitching performance from Kaylor Darnell and some timely hitting propelled Webb City to a 6-0 victory over Carl Junction on Tuesday in a Central Ozark Conference matchup at Chuck Barnes Field.

A senior right-hander, Darnell delivered a gem on the mound. 

A Missouri Southern signee, Darnell struck out 11, scattered five hits, walked two and hit one in 6 2/3 shutout innings before reaching his pitch count in the seventh inning.

“We’ll take 11 strikeouts any day,” Webb City coach Andrew Doennig said. “Kaylor definitely kept them down. He didn’t throw real well at the beginning of the game. I think he had 58 pitches through the first three innings. But then he started cruising. It was a great performance. He really settled down and found his fastball and he let his other stuff work for him, too.” 

Webb City senior right-hander Kaylor Darnell struck out 11 and tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings on Tuesday. Photo by Israel Perez.

Ending a three-game skid, Webb City hiked its record to 12-9 overall and 5-1 in the COC. 

Carl Junction slipped to 7-13 overall and 2-4 in conference action.

“We had 11 strikeouts and that was the name of the game,” Carl Junction coach Phil Cook said. “You can’t do that. They only out-hit us 7-5. I wonder what could have happened if we could just cut those strikeouts in half. We needed a hit in a key situation to get us going. 

“Kaylor threw a really good game,” Cook added. “I think he’s one of the better pitchers around the area. I know he’s a good kid and I wish him all the luck…except when he plays us. But he threw a great game tonight.”

In a clash between district rivals, the Cardinals pushed across two runs in the bottom of the first inning against Carl Junction starter Lucas Vanlanduit.

Junior second baseman Sam Weller reached on a dropped third strike to start the frame and senior shortstop Cy Darnell was hit by a pitch before junior catcher Shaun Hunt smacked a two-run double into right-center.

“It’s always nice if you can get on the scoreboard first,” Doennig said. “It was big getting two runs in the first inning like that.” 

With runners on the corners and just one out, the hosts had a golden opportunity for a big inning, but the Bulldogs used a double play and a fly out to avoid further damage in the first frame.

Webb City stranded the bases loaded in the third, as Vanlanduit induced an inning-ending pop-up off the bat of junior designated hitter Brett Korth to keep the game a two-run affair.

The Cardinals blew the game open with four runs in the fourth.

Senior left fielder William Hayes walked, went to second on a passed ball and sprinted home after a Carl Junction error after senior center fielder Gage Chapman laid down a bunt in front of the plate. 

Later in the frame, Chapman charged home after a CJ error following his stolen base attempt at third base. 

Webb City’s Kenley Hood stretches to secure the throw at first base against Carl Junction’s Logan Eck on Tuesday at Barnes Field. Photo by Israel Perez.

Next, Cy Darnell’s sac fly gave the Cardinals a five-run advantage. The hosts weren’t done, as junior third baseman Drew Vonder Haar tripled before senior first baseman Kenley Hood’s RBI single into left made it 6-0.

“We talk all the time about putting pressure on the other team’s defense,” Doennig said. “I thought we did a really good job of that. We ran a little bit, put pressure on them and it worked out for us.”

Carl Junction threatened with two outs in the sixth, as Vanlanduit was plunked before Logan Eck singled. But Darnell was able to retire Drew Massey on a pop fly in foul territory. 

The Bulldogs put two runners on in the seventh after a Webb City error and an infield single by Wyatt McAfee. Doennig was forced to pull Darnell with two outs due to the pitch count. 

Senior righty Walker Sweet took over on the hill and recorded the final out to secure the win. 

Hood went 2-for-4 for the Cardinals, while Hunt drove in two runs and Weller scored twice. 

Chapman had four of Webb City’s six stolen bases. The Cardinals also took advantage of three errors and several wild pitches and passed balls to take extra bags.

“We’ve tried to encourage guys to run, and we’ve got some guys who can really move,” Doennig said. “We took some chances and it worked out.” 

A Pittsburg State signee, the right-handed Vanlanduit took the loss after allowing three earned runs on seven hits, three hit batters and two walks. 

“Lucas threw well,” Cook said. “We just had a couple of innings where it got away from us. We had some miscues and you can’t do that against a good team.”

Senior Gaige Carson tossed two scoreless innings in relief for the Bulldogs.

A sophomore right fielder, McAfee had two of Carl Junction’s five hits. 

Both teams have COC home games on Thursday, as Carl Junction hosts Republic and Webb City entertains Ozark.

Cook noted his squad will look to bounce back on Thursday.

“We’re learning and we’re getting there,” Cook said. “With us, it’s been the same thing…we beat ourselves. We have to get away from that.”

Doennig’s Cardinals will look to continue their winning ways with Thursday’s COC home game. 

“I think we’re playing pretty well right now,” Doennig said. “I feel good about where we’re at. We’ve got some tough games coming up. It doesn’t get any easier for us, but I know our guys will be ready to play.”

 

Carl Junction first baseman Bentley Rowden is unable to haul in the throw at first base as Webb City’s Gage Chapman reaches safely. Webb City beat Carl Junction 6-0 in COC play. Photos by Israel Perez/SoMo Sports.

 

Webb City’s Gage Chapman steals a base against Carl Junction on Tuesday.

 

Carl Junction’s Lucas Vanlanduit delivers a pitch to the plate against Webb City on Tuesday.

 

Webb City’s Sam Weller takes a throw at second base against Carl Junction’s Cody Hollingsworth. All photos by Israel Perez.

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

BASEBALL: One bad inning costs Neosho against state-ranked Nixa

Posted on by Jason Peake

NEOSHO, Mo. — Tuesday’s home game against the Nixa Eagles, sixth-ranked in Class 6 and one of the best teams in the Central Ozark Conference and Class 6 District 6, started out promisingly for their conference and district rival Neosho Wildcats.

Neosho senior pitcher Kael Smith retired Nixa in order in the top of the first and senior right fielder Eli Zar started the bottom half with a single to center for the game’s first hit.

Senior center fielder Wyatt Shadwick reached on a hit-by-pitch, but fellow senior Austin Rodriguez lined into a double play to Nixa second baseman Collin Ussery to end the inning and Nixa junior catcher Jack Edwards slugged a leadoff double to start a four-run second for the Eagles on their way to a 6-1 win over the Wildcats at Roy B. Shaver Field within the Marion Sports Complex.

“They can hit,” Neosho coach Bo Helsel said. “We just saw them this past weekend and they hit us around quite a bit. We knew they were going to hit, and one thing we didn’t do on the mound was … we had too many walks today. When you have a team that can hit that well, you give them too many walks, a couple here and there, they drive those runs in. That was what doomed us today.

“We had our chances. In the first inning, we got doubled up. That happens, especially when the second baseman is coming to the bag. You’re probably getting doubled up even if you go straight back, but that’s the game sometimes. I thought the bats were much better today than they’ve been in other conference games, so that’s something to build on that’s for sure.”

The Eagles scored their four in the second behind a Broden Mabe RBI single, a Wyatt Vincent sacrifice fly, and bases loaded walks by Ussery and Rylan Michel. Smith gave three of the Wildcats’ seven walks in that second that saw Nixa produce four runs on four hits and no errors with three runners left behind.

Nixa added on two in the fourth with a Michel RBI double and a Edwards RBI single. Ussery sparked the rally and scored the first run of the fourth after his leadoff double.

Tanner Grant started the Nixa third with a triple, but he got caught and captured in a rundown between third and home. Reese Dirnberger reached second on a fielder’s choice and by taking advantage of Grant’s pickle on the bases, but Smith induced a fly ball for the second out and struck out Mabe to retire the side and preserve the 4-0 deficit.

Neosho relievers Colton Southern and Bostyn Patterson pitched three scoreless innings of relief, with the junior Southern working through four walks in his two innings and the sophomore Patterson striking out Gehrig Eoff, Mabe, and Ussery in order and down swinging.

“Colton came in and threw really well,” Helsel said. “I knew the change of speeds between Kael and Colton was hopefully going to mess with them and it did. He threw strikes and Bostyn came in and struck out the side in the seventh. That’s nice to have, because both those kids will be back next year so hopefully, they can get a little confidence in their pitching abilities playing against a really good team. They shut (Nixa) down for three innings, kept us in the game, and gave us a shot to get back in it. We just couldn’t quite it done with the bats.”

Southern and especially Patterson stepped up for the Wildcats during their first game following a week where they played six games in five days.

“I think it was his second varsity outing,” Helsel said of Patterson. “It’s been a week or so. He’s been one of our JV starters, and sometimes when you have a lot of games over the weekend, you end up running a lot of guys that typically would throw varsity out there on the weekend, so we didn’t have a lot of guys available with pitch counts.

“I knew that with our young guys, they’re solid. We’re going to be fine next year with pitching, because we’ve got guys who can throw it. I knew this would be a good opportunity for them, they kept us in the game, and they did their jobs.”

The Wildcats scored their only run in the fifth when River Brill reached on a single, stole second and scored on Southern’s single to center.

Zar led the Wildcats with a pair of hits against Nixa starter Jackson Gamble, who struck out Neosho hitters to end five of the seven innings Tuesday.

Neosho dropped to 13-10 overall and 1-5 COC, and the Wildcats return home Thursday for a conference game against Branson.

“Definitely a winnable game, but we’ve learned this year and we learned it last year that when you play in the COC, you have to come in and compete every day that you play a COC team,” Helsel said. “Nothing’s handed to you, they don’t make a lot of errors behind them, their pitchers are solid, and so we’re going to have to come and play well to get a win. I think it is a game we can get, I think the kids feel that, and hopefully we can use the good things that we did today and build on that for Thursday.”

BASEBALL: Webb City swept by visiting Rock Bridge on chilly Saturday

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — The visiting Rock Bridge Bruins demonstrated why they are the fourth-ranked team in Class 6 by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association during their doubleheader sweep of the host Webb City Cardinals on Saturday at Chuck Barnes Field.

Rock Bridge’s Owen Wise prevailed against Webb City’s Drew Vonder Haar in a classic 1-0 pitchers’ duel to start the day and the Bruins completed 14 innings of shutout baseball Saturday with a 4-0 win in the second game.

Webb City coach Andrew Doennig spent 10-15 minutes on the field after the second game talking alone with Rock Bridge coach Justin Towe about the Bruins’ offensive strategy.

“The thing we learned today is the execution of your offense is very, very important,” Doennig said. “(Rock Bridge) is a team that does what they do in their offense. They bunt, they run and they showed today why they are so good. They’ve won 17 games in a row now, so the execution of their offense was phenomenal. That’s what killed us today. They executed, and we didn’t.

“We just have to find a way. There’s going to be some games where we’re going to be able to hit and there’s going to be some games we may not be able to hit so well, so we’ve got to find a way in those games to be able to bunt guys over, move runners over and steal bases. That’s the thing going forward. We’ve told them getting into the playoffs, you’re not going to win every game 11-1 or 10-1 or whatever, you’re not going to blow people out, so we got to be able to get better at the small ball stuff.”

In Saturday’s second game, Webb City managed three hits against Rock Bridge starter Cade Luetkemeyer — a Vonder Haar double leading off the second, a Kaylor Darnell double leading off the fifth and a Sam Weller single leading off the sixth.

The Cardinals failed to execute with runners in scoring position and less than two outs.

Kenley Hood sacrificed Vonder Haar over 90 feet in the second, but Luetkemeyer induced a pair of flyball outs to retire the side.

Luetkemeyer earned a strikeout and two groundouts in the fifth.

Weller did not have a chance to get into scoring position in the sixth as the Bruins turned a 5-4-3 double play against Cy Darnell.

Rock Bridge relievers Carter Ihler and Brady Davidson came in and earned the last four outs.

The Bruins plated two runs in the second and one in the fourth and sixth, executing small ball during a day when runs were at a premium.

In the second, Dane Gray reached on an error, Cooper Siebuhr got on with a bunt single, and Crew Norden loaded the bases with Bruins on his single.

Gray scored on Cullen Snow’s bloop single to right and the Bruins executed the squeeze for their second run with Siebuhr coming home from third and Ty Thompson making the bunt.

Gray led off the fourth with a double, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on Snow’s sacrifice bunt with two strikes.

Siebuhr reached on an error leading off the sixth, stole both second and third, and closed the scoring when he came home on a Norden single.

Luke Beverlin earned the loss and he allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with four strikeouts and one walk over 1 1/3 innings, Walker Sweet allowed one run (earned) on one hit with two strikeouts and one walk in 2 2/3 innings, Kaylor Darnell allowed one run (unearned) on two hits over two innings with two strikeouts and one walk, and Gage Chapman pitched a scoreless seventh with one hit allowed and one strikeout.

Webb City’s four pitchers combined for 121 total pitches, while Rock Bridge’s three arms finished at 80 in their seven innings.

Wise fired a two-hitter and Vonder Haar a three-hitter in the opener.

Wise struck out four and walked none, while Vonder Haar allowed one run (unearned) with two strikeouts and one walk over his seven innings.

Wise and Vonder Haar combined for 172 pitches total (Vonder Haar 93, Wise 79).

William Hayes singled in the third and Hood singled leading off the fifth, but the Cardinals set the tone for their day by leaving both Hayes and Hood in scoring position.

Wise supported himself by driving in what turned out to be the game’s only run with a two-out single bringing home Will Kimes in the fourth, only a half-inning after Webb City stranded Hayes at second.

Webb City dropped to 11-9 overall and the Cardinals take a three-game losing streak — starting with their 8-7 loss in Central Ozark Conference play Thursday against sixth-ranked in Class 6 Nixa, a loss that especially hurt since the Cardinals led 7-0 early on and then lost in eight innings — into Tuesday’s home game against conference and county rival Carl Junction.

“We drop a game at Nixa that you feel like you probably should have won,” Doennig said. “Then, coming out here and playing (Rock Bridge). We’ve played them for the past six years and it’s always been tough games, tight games. Today was a tough day to hit. It was 1-0 in the first game and then 4-0 now. It’s tough, but these are character-building days that you try and learn from and get better.”

 

GAME 1 STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

GAME 2 STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

BASEBALL: Pittsburg outlasts Carl Junction in slugfest

Posted on by Jason Peake

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The host Carl Junction Bulldogs and the visiting Pittsburg Dragons combined for 29 runs, 29 hits, 10 errors, 24 RBI, seven extra-base hits, eight walks, six hit batters and nearly 300 pitches during a wild and crazy 17-12 win for the guests from Kansas.

Pittsburg scored four runs in the first, third and seventh with one in the second and the fourth and three in the fifth, while Carl Junction plated two in the first and the sixth, seven in the third and one in the fourth.

The Bulldogs erased an early 9-2 deficit with their seven-run third and then knotted the score again at 10 with their run in the fourth.

The Bulldogs scored two in the sixth to narrow the deficit to 13-12, before the Dragons closed out the scoring with four insurance runs in the seventh.

“That’s the positive, that they had every opportunity to just quit, and they didn’t,” Carl Junction coach Phil Cook said. “We swung the bat well all day. We scored 12 runs, and you should win. They’re a good team, I know they’ve won a lot of games and they’ve got some guys at the top of their lineup that can flat out swing it. I think we’ve got a good team, too.

“We walked or hit nine … nine free ones. What happened with those nine? Here lately, some of the games that we’ve lost and lost close, even Willard the other day, we walked 14 … Springfield Catholic, we walked 11 … and then nine (Friday). You can’t do that and expect to win. You can’t put nine guys on free and expect to beat anybody. We’ve got to clean that up.

“We are swinging it well. We had a couple errors, so did they. It’s a tough day out there. That field is hard as a rock. We need some rain. I’m discouraged. I hate getting beat, that’s what it boils down to, but I am encouraged by the fight that the kids had and the way they swung it.”

Logan Eck and Wyatt McAfee combined for half of Carl Junction’s 12 hits with three each and Arlen Wakefield, Bentley Rowden, Lucas Vanlanduit, Drew Massey, Deacon Endicott and Mekhi McGarry each had the other half of the 12 hits with one apiece.

Endicott provided one of the game’s most thrilling moments with his three-run inside-the-park home run in the third. Eck added a RBI single and McAfee tied it up at 9 with his RBI single.

Eck put the Bulldogs on the board with a RBI triple in the second that brought home Vanlanduit after he led off the inning with a walk.

Massey’s RBI triple tied it at 10 in the fourth.

Endicott finished with four RBI, his first on a sacrifice fly that plated Eck in the second, while Vanlanduit scored three runs and Eck drove in and scored two.

Eck took a no-decision and he allowed 10 runs (four earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts and four walks over four innings.

Endicott ended with the loss and he allowed seven runs (four earned) on 10 hits with one strikeout and no walks over his three innings of relief.

Beau Pasteur led Pittsburg’s 17-hit attack with four and the trio of Dawson Stegman, Tucker Akins, and Ethan Rhodes each had three hits.

Webb Fern’s two-run triple only three batters in opened the scoring and Pittsburg’s catcher finished his day with four RBI, all in the first three innings.

Jackson Turnbull added three RBI for the Dragons.

Pittsburg starter Garrett Hanson also did not factor in the final decision and he allowed nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks over 2 2/3 innings.

Quentin Fears earned the win in relief with three runs (one earned) on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Carl Junction dropped to 7-12 overall on the season and the Bulldogs return to Central Ozark Conference action Tuesday on the road against their rival Webb City.

BASEBALL: Webb City routs rival Carthage, extends winning streak to 4

Posted on by Jason Peake

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.

BASEBALL: Neosho wins on Rodriguez’s gem, one big inning

Posted on by Jason Peake

NEOSHO, Mo. — The Neosho Wildcats received a gem from senior pitcher Austin Rodriguez and their bats came alive with four runs in the sixth inning during a 5-1 win over the Mount Vernon Mountaineers on Friday at Roy B. Shaver Field inside the Marion Sports Complex.

Rodriguez allowed one run on two hits and recorded 10 strikeouts and two walks over seven innings, and the Mountaineers jumped out to a 1-0 lead with their only run in the second.

Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly tied it up in the fourth and then the Wildcats put together their big rally with two outs in the sixth.

“He (Rodriguez) was very efficient,” Neosho coach Bo Helsel said. “During his bullpen session on Wednesday we worked on a little adjustment to his curveball trying to get a little more break on it and it worked today. He filled it up and he competed for us. He kept his mind right the whole game and didn’t get any down when they had a couple hits. He grinded for us and one run, you can live with it.”

In the second, Mount Vernon junior Sawyer Anderson worked a walk and stole second, then scored on a Gavin Johnson RBI single to left.

Neosho junior Quenton Hughes reached on a hit by pitch leading off the fourth, stole second, and advanced to third on a Wyatt Shadwick hit before scoring on Rodriguez’s fly out to center.

Shadwick began the two-out rally in the sixth when he reached on an infield single and that was followed by a Rodriguez single, and a Kael Smith walk to load the bases.

Helsel called on sophomore Cade Spiva to pinch-hit and he delivered a two-run single bringing home Shadwick and courtesy runner Hudson Williams.

Carter Fenske worked a walk to load the bases again and Colton Southern then came through with a two-run single to score Smith and Spiva for the 5-1 advantage that proved to be far more than enough runs for the Wildcats to earn the win in the seventh.

“That inning started with two straight outs, so we did all that damage with two outs, which we haven’t been able to do this year,” Helsel said. “I wish we had done that in a couple more innings before that, but you’ll take what you can get. All wins are good wins, and all losses are bad losses. It may not have been the cleanest and best win that I had envisioned for today, but a win is a win.

“Cade Spiva came in in a big spot off the bench and drove in two runs, then Colton Southern followed him up with two more runs so that was important for us especially going into CJ in a few days.

“When runs are at a premium like they have been our last few games, it feels good to get a four-spot up there. Hopefully, that will give our hitters some confidence going into next week.”

The Wildcats improved to 12-4 overall on the season headed into one of their busiest weeks this season.

“We play CJ at CJ (Tuesday), we’re at Willard on Thursday, and then we’re in the Paul Dudley Lebanon Wood Tournament,” Helsel said. “We play Marshfield again, we play Nixa and Lebanon, and then we’ll play one more game against the other side of the tournament. Six games in five days, it will be a grind, but our kids are ready as they’ll ever be, and we’ve just got to hit.”

Neosho approaches last season’s win total of 14 with at least 14 games remaining.

BASEBALL: College Heights routs Verona in run-rule fashion

Posted on by Jason Peake

The College Heights Christian Cougars scored at least one run every inning during their 11-1 run-rule victory in five innings Thursday against Ozark 7 Conference opponent Verona.

The Cougars plated five runs in the first, one in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth, and two in the fifth to end it on a Ben Thomas RBI single bringing home Kelton Welch from third, while Verona scored one in the fourth on a Kayden Cornelison single.

Sophomore pitcher Smoke Ezell claimed the win with one run (earned) allowed on six hits over five innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. Meanwhile, at the plate, Ezell collected two hits, both doubles, and drove in two runs during a big day overall for College Heights’ normally starting catcher.

The Cougars have won three of their last four games and they scored 40 runs over that stretch with three 10-run performances, including 12 runs in a 14-12 loss against Pierce City.

Unlike an earlier game on April 4, when College Heights won 11-5 against conference and crosstown rival McAuley Catholic, the Cougars maintained a scoring pace for the entire game and earned the run-rule victory rather than having to play all seven innings.

“We started off fast with the bats and I felt like we hit the ball hard tonight and put the pressure on Verona,” College Heights coach Phillip Jordan said. “They made a few mistakes, and we were able to take advantage. Then, our pitcher Smoke did a really nice job of just being efficient and staying in the strike zone. Unlike the way that we had played the last few games, defensively we played really well. Of course, that makes a big difference.”

College Heights improved to 4-5 overall and the Cougars won both of their games this week, following Monday’s 6-4 win over Miller at historic Joe Becker Stadium. Miller was ninth in Class 2 in the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association rankings released April 4.

“We were 2-0 this week, and you can’t ask for a better week when you win all your games,” Jordan said. “We still have a lot to play and we’re not going to be satisfied. We’re still working to get better, and we know that we have got some tough ones next week.”

College Heights returns to action Monday on the road against Lockwood and the Cougars also play Liberal on the road Thursday and Billings on the road Saturday. In fact, with Mount Vernon and Riverton next week also on the road, College Heights could play five consecutive road games.

On Thursday, Austin Miller joined Ezell with two hits and Jayce Walker, Josh Anderson, Kelton Welch, Caleb Evans, Thomas, and Phillip Thompson each had one.

Anderson and Welch each scored two runs and Evans and Thomas each drove in two, while Anderson, Miller, and Thompson each picked up one RBI.

Anderson, Welch, and Miller each stole two bases and Walker, Evans, and Thomas had steals as College Heights finished with nine for the game.

College Heights also worked five walks and was hit by three pitches from Verona pitchers Asher Freiburger and Cornelison.

Cornelison led Verona with two hits and Westin Shrum, Noah Freiburger, Alced Jimenez, and Tristan Reed rounded out Verona’s six-hit attack with one each.

BASEBALL: Darnell’s clutch hit lifts Webb City to walk-off win

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Kaylor Darnell came through in the clutch for the Webb City Cardinals.

With his team trailing by a run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Darnell slapped a two-run single through the right side, propelling Webb City to a thrilling 3-2 walk-off win over the Republic Tigers on Thursday at Chuck Barnes Field.

Facing a 2-2 count with the bases loaded, Darnell was down his last strike before he delivered the game-ending hit.

“In my earlier at-bats, I was just barely missing his curveball,” Darnell said. “Going into that last at-bat, and with a 2-2 count, I knew a curveball was coming. I knew I just needed to stay on it and slap it to right.”

Darnell’s base hit into right put the finishing touches on a well-played game, and of course, it set off a celebration on the field for the hosts.

“It was awesome,” Darnell said of delivering a walk-off win. “I rounded first base and saw the second guy score. Then I saw my teammates running at me…I was trying not to get tackled. But it was awesome. It’s what baseball is all about.” 

Webb City senior third baseman Kaylor Darnell delivered the game-winning hit against Republic on Thursday night at Chuck Barnes Field. Photo by Israel Perez.

Webb City improved to 9-6 overall and 3-0 in the Central Ozark Conference after the come-from-behind win.

“Republic’s a really good team, so it’s always good to get a win over a good, quality team like them,” Webb City coach Andrew Doennig said. “Starting 3-0 in the conference is big. We know that no game in the COC is easy. We’ll take every one we can get.”

Webb City had defeated Republic 13-7 on April 1 at the Red and Blue Tournament.

The rematch featured a lot less offense, as Webb City’s Landon Fletcher and Republic’s Caide White allowed just six hits apiece in the classic pitcher’s duel.

The Cardinals pushed across a single tally in the bottom of the third. Senior center fielder Gage Chapman walked, went to second on a wild pitch and then sprinted home on junior second baseman Sam Weller’s run-scoring single into left field.

Republic tied it up in the fifth after two singles and a sacrifice fly from Collin Myers.

The score held up until the top of the seventh, when the Tigers plated the go-ahead run after Connor Sandridge doubled to left-center and later scored on Devon Hughes’ RBI single to center.

Down 2-1 as the bottom of the seventh arrived, Webb City’s first two batters of the inning were retired. With that, things weren’t looking good for the hosts.

But the Cardinals rallied. Senior shortstop Cy Darnell singled to right before Weller reached on the game’s lone error and junior catcher Shaun Hunt drew a walk to load the bases.

With the tying run at third, and the winning run at second, that’s when Kaylor Darnell came up big, sending the hosts and their fans home happy. 

“You just have to put the ball in play and see if you can make something happen,” Doennig said of the late-game scenario. “We’ve been in that situation a couple of times this year, and we couldn’t get the guy in to win it. So it was a great job by Kaylor. He’s a patient kid. He put the ball in play and drove in those runs.” 

A sophomore right-hander, Fletcher earned the pitching victory. He scattered six hits, walked none and struck out nine in a masterful performance on the mound.

“He just pounds the strike zone,” Doennig said. “That’s what we’ve seen from him all season. He doesn’t walk guys. They didn’t get a hit against him until the fifth on a chopper over his head. It was just a great job by him.

“We pitched it well and played good defense today,” Doennig added. “When you do that, you’re always going to have a chance to win.” 

Republic’s White took the loss, but only allowed one earned run on six hits and three walks while striking out eight.

Webb City junior right fielder Drew Vonder Haar went 2-for-3 at the plate and was the lone Cardinal to have multiple hits.

The Tigers, who were coming off a 15-5 win over Willard on Tuesday, fell to 7-7 overall and 1-1 in the COC.

Webb City hosts Hillcrest at 4:30 on Friday for a non-conference clash.

 

Webb City senior shortstop Cy Darnell fires a throw to first during Thursday’s game against Republic at Chuck Barnes Field. Webb City won the game 3-2. Photo by Israel Perez.

 

Webb City first baseman Kenley Hood takes a throw from Landon Fletcher against Republic’s Connor Sandridge on Thursday at Chuck Barnes Field.

 

Webb City sophomore right-hander Landon Fletcher was the winning pitcher against Republic on Thursday. Fletcher struck out nine and scattered six hits in a complete-game gem. Photos by Israel Perez.

 

Webb City rallied in the seventh inning to beat Republic 3-2 on Thursday.

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

BASEBALL: Webb City blanks Branson behind Darnell’s gem

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Kaylor Darnell dazzled on the mound, Shaun Hunt came up big at the plate and Webb City improved to 2-0 in Central Ozark Conference play by beating Branson 4-0 on Tuesday at Chuck Barnes Field. 

A senior right-hander, Darnell earned the complete-game shutout victory.

A Missouri Southern signee, Darnell allowed just three hits and struck out nine. He did not walk a batter and needed just 78 pitches to go the distance. 

A junior catcher, Hunt drove in three runs on two hits. 

With the game scoreless, Hunt delivered a two-run single to center field in the bottom of the third inning, with William Hayes and Gage Chapman scoring on the play.

The Cardinals added a run in the fifth, as Cy Darnell singled and went to second on Sam Weller’s sacrifice before Hunt slapped an RBI single into left-center to give the hosts a 3-0 lead.

Webb City added an insurance run in the sixth. Brett Korth singled, Hayes doubled and Korth charged home on Luke Beverlin’s run-scoring ground out. 

Hunt and Hayes both had two hits for the Cardinals, who did not commit an error in the field. Drew Vonder Haar, Cy Darnell and Korth had one hit apiece.

The Cardinals are now 8-6 overall.

Branson’s Elijah Seitz took the loss after allowing four earned runs on seven hits. He struck out seven and walked three. 

Sam Adkisson had two of Branson’s three hits. The Pirates fell to 6-11 overall and 0-2 in the COC. 

Webb City hosts Republic at 4:30 on Thursday for another COC clash.

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

BASEBALL: Webb City rallies past Neosho in COC opener

Posted on by Jason Peake

NEOSHO, Mo. — On a day where runs were at a premium, Webb City rallied late to earn a 4-1 victory over Neosho in the Central Ozark Conference opener on Thursday at Roy B. Shaver Field.

Webb City improved to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in the COC after snapping Neosho’s seven-game winning streak.

The Wildcats are now 8-2 overall and 0-1 in the COC. 

The conference opener was a classic pitcher’s duel between Neosho’s Kael Smith and Webb City’s Landon Fletcher.

A sophomore right-hander, Fletcher earned the win after striking out 10 and limiting the Wildcats to three hits and two walks. He only threw 81 pitches.

A senior right-hander who no-hit Webb City last season, Smith took the loss but only allowed four runs. He scattered 11 hits and struck out two on 89 pitches. 

Neither team made an error in the field.

The Wildcats manufactured a run in the second inning without a hit. Wyatt Shadwick walked, stole second and later scored from third on a dropped third strike.

The Cardinals tied it up in the fourth. Shaun Hunt singled to left, with Eli Miller pinch-running. Miller took second on a wild pitch, went to third on Drew Vonder Haar’s ground out and scored on Kenley Hood’s grounder to short.

Webb City scored the go-ahead run in the sixth.

Kaylor Darnell singled to center and went to second on a wild pitch. After an out, Vonder Haar lined a run-scoring single into right-center to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

The Cardinals added two key insurance runs in the top of the seventh.

Cy Darnell reached on a fielder’s choice before Kaylor Darnell singled to put runners on the corners. With two outs, Shaun Hunt ripped an RBI single into left for a two-run cushion.

Next, Vonder Haar singled to load the bases before Hood drove in a run with a fielder’s choice.

Fletcher gave up a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh before the Cardinals recorded the final three outs, with a nifty play at shortstop by Cy Darnell key to retiring the side without any damage. 

Three players recorded two hits apiece for the Cardinals — Kaylor Darnell, Hunt and Vonder Haar. Gage Chapman had the game’s lone extra-base hit, a double.

Neosho’s three hits, all singles, were recorded by Shadwick, Carter Fenske and Colton Southern.

Webb City hosts Glendale at 11 a.m. on Saturday. 

Neosho meets Miami (Oklahoma) at 10 a.m. and Carthage at noon at the Mickey Mantle Classic. Both games will be played at Miami High School.

BASEBALL: McDonald County rides big first inning to win over Webb City

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. —Taking advantage of extra outs and free passes, McDonald County scored five runs in the first inning en route to a 6-3 victory over Webb City on an extremely windy and unseasonably warm Tuesday at Chuck Barnes Field.

In a clash between district foes, the opening frame proved crucial. 

The Mustangs pushed across five runs in the top of the first. And they did it with just one hit while taking advantage of five walks, two errors and a hit batter.

“We talked about approaches before the game and I thought our kids went up there with patient approaches early in the game,” Mustangs coach Heath Alumbaugh said. “We made Darnell work on the mound and that was key to the first inning. We only had one hit in that inning, but we were able to capitalize on a couple of errors and those walks. Overall, it was a good team win across the board.”

“You can’t walk five guys in one inning and expect to win many baseball games,” Webb City coach Andrew Doennig said. “And you can’t give teams crooked innings and expect to win games. That’s one thing that has killed us in a few games this season. It’s something we have to clean up and get better at.” 

After two errors and a walk to start the game, McDonald County’s Isaac Behm slapped a run-scoring single into left field.

Webb City’s Sam Weller is pictured during Tuesday’s game against McDonald County. Photo by Jamie Beck.

Weston Gordon contributed a sacrifice fly to right before Jacob Gordon and Devin Stone both drew bases-loaded walks, chasing Webb City senior right-hander Kaylor Darnell and giving the visitors a four-run cushion.

Junior right-hander Payton Marshall took over on the mound with the bases full and plunked Destyn Dowd to make it 5-0 before inducing an inning-ending pop-up. 

The Cardinals got a run back in the bottom of the first on Drew Vonder Haar’s RBI double into right-center. Pinch runner Andrew Elwell scored on the play before Vonder Haar was thrown out at third trying to stretch a double into a triple.

Webb City scored once in the third, as Sam Weller tripled to right and charged home on Gage Chapman’s sac fly.

The Mustangs added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on Behm’s RBI double.

Trailing 6-2, the Cardinals made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh.

Christian Brock doubled, and after an out, Chapman delivered a run-scoring single.

After Cy Darnell was retired, Kaylor Darnell singled before Shaun Hunt walked.

After taking over on the mound with the bases loaded, McDonald County reliever Angel Ruiz was able to record the final out.

“All you can ask the kids to do is get on base,” Doennig said. “They did that in the seventh and they gave us a chance. Sometimes it’s just a little bit too late.” 

Senior right-hander Weston Gordon was the winning pitcher. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four.

Webb City’s Landon Johnson is pictured during Tuesday’s game against McDonald County. Photo by Jamie Beck.

“That’s what Weston Gordon does for us,” Alumbaugh said. “He changes speeds really well. He knows he has a great defense behind him and he doesn’t have to strike people out. Because of that, he throws a ton of strikes and lets the defense play.

“And Angel Ruiz has already come through in the clutch for us this season,” Alumbaugh added. “He closed the door.”

Kaylor Darnell took the loss. He allowed one earned run on one hit and five walks. 

Marshall was stellar in relief. Marshall tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven, allowing no hits and walking just one.

Doennig noted Marshall kept his team in the game by putting up zeros inning after inning in relief.

“What a great job by Payton,” Doennig said. “He did the same thing on Friday for us. It was a great job by him coming in and keeping the other team down. He got strike one, that was the difference.”

Walker Sweet gave up one run on two hits in the seventh, striking out two.

The Cardinals out-hit the Mustangs 8-3. 

Chapman went 2-for-3 with two RBI for Webb City. Behm had two of Mac County’s three hits and drove in two runs.

McDonald County improved to 7-5, while Webb City fell to 6-5.

Both teams are listed in the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association’s latest rankings. Webb City is ranked ninth in Class 5, while McDonald County is receiving votes.

The Cardinals and Mustangs could see each other again, as both squads have been assigned to Class 5 District 7.

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Webb City opens COC play on Thursday at Neosho.

McDonald County hosts Hollister on Thursday.

 

Webb City’s Drew Vonder Haar is pictured during Tuesday’s game against McDonald County. The Mustangs defeated the Cardinals 6-3 at Chuck Barnes Field. Photo by Jamie Beck.

 

Pictured is McDonald County’s Fischer Sanny.

 

Pictured is McDonald County’s Cross Dowd.

 

McDonald County’s Jack Parnell is pictured. Photos by Jamie Beck.

BASEBALL: Fundamentally sound Grove bests Seneca

Posted on by Jason Peake

The visiting Grove (Oklahoma) Ridgerunners found multiple ways to generate offense and score runs and limited the host Seneca Indians to only a pair of runs with a combination of solid pitching and defense on their way to a 7-2 win on Monday at historic Joe Becker Stadium.

Grove scored two runs in the first, one in the third, three in the fifth, and one in the seventh, while Seneca managed one run in the fourth and one again in the fifth.

Hunter Wall’s RBI double in the fifth and Jayce Baser’s RBI double in the seventh highlighted the Ridgerunners’ offensive efforts, while Seneca’s Kade Johnson connected with a RBI double in the fifth.

Grove starter Hagen Hacker allowed both runs and finished with eight strikeouts during his five innings of work, and reliever Taylor Lee pitched two scoreless innings, with an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play turned by third baseman Baser and second baseman Nick Brown.

This defensive gem fed straight into Grove’s offense as Wall and Baser hit consecutive doubles to start the seventh.

“We’re a team that has to do a lot of different things to try and generate runs,” Grove coach Drew Osborne, a former Neosho and Grove assistant for Donny Pennington, said. “Today, we were successful with that. Hagen led off the game with a base hit. He’s done that five games in a row. Nick bunted him over. He’s done that five games in a row, so we were able to get the first inning scripted pretty much and after that, it was just guys coming through.

“We got walks in tough at-bats, getting hit by pitch down in the count, and sac flies. Dayton’s hit three or four sac flies in the last couple games as well. Our goal right now is to manufacture runs. Get guys on, move them over, and score them.”

Grove catcher Dayton Keller picked up an RBI with sacrifice flies in the first and third.

Pitching, defense, and timely hitting, as well as aggressive but smart baserunning, are fundamental elements to winning baseball games, and the Ridgerunners had them Monday.

“Hagen did a great job for us,” Osborne said. “He got a spot start today. Typically, he throws in relief for us as a closer type of guy, but we played five games last week and we have six games this week, so we needed a good start from him. He was in the zone early, he got ahead early, and he made hitters hit his pitches. Then, Taylor came in and did a great job in relief. We were pleased to see that because it sets us up for the rest of the week as far as pitching.

“Defense is something that we strive to be good at every day. We try to put guys in positions to be successful anywhere on the field defensively. We have a couple guys off the field with injuries, but you couldn’t tell because those other guys are ready to come in and make big plays. We’re proud of those guys.”

Grove, who earned wins against Missouri schools Webb City (6-4) and Willard (7-6) earlier this season, improved to 12-2 overall entering Tuesday’s doubleheader against Tulsa Nathan Hale.

Meanwhile, the Indians stranded two runners in the first, one in the third, three in the fourth, one in the fifth, and had a potential rally eliminated with a double play in the sixth.

Johnson and Colton Curtis hit consecutive singles in the first, Cade Galindo was denied a single in the second by Grove shortstop Corbin Houseman on a running stop and strike to first, Curtis and Hagen Ginger hit back-to-back singles to start the third and Ginger scored Seneca’s first run, and Kaden Clouse singled in the sixth.

The Indians made a pair of outstanding defensive plays in the fourth: Curtis caught a line drive up the middle and doubled up a Grove runner at second, then Clouse made a diving catch in left with two outs and the bases loaded with Ridgerunners.

Grove would not be denied, though, in the fifth.

“If we make a couple pitches, if we make a couple plays, it’s a 3-2 game right there,” Seneca coach Chris Yust said. “We’re right in it, and you can’t give a good team leadoff walks and those extra outs, they’ll take advantage of it every day. We struck out too many times with runners in scoring position. Overall, we played well, but there’s a couple plays that we’d like to get back and get in some extra at-bats and extra swings. Definitely, we hope to get better and to learn from it.”

Seneca dropped to 5-5 on the season and the Indians return to action Tuesday with a game against Carthage (1-7 overall) at Wendell Redden Stadium inside the Joplin Athletic Complex.

The Indians and the Tigers are familiar foes after years of playing each other in Carthage’s Bill O’Dell Varsity Tournament. They have played 12 times since 2010, for example.

BASEBALL: Nevada routs Carl Junction in Saturday morning contest

Posted on by Jason Peake

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Nevada Tigers scored early and often during their 11-1 run-rule win in five innings against the host Carl Junction Bulldogs on Saturday morning.

Nevada scored one run in the first, three in the third, five in the fourth, and two in the fifth to close out the scoring and set up the run-rule scenario after the Bulldogs scored their lone run in the fourth.

University of Nebraska baseball commit and Nevada senior Case Sanderson pitched three shutout innings and collected three hits, including an RBI double, and three runs scored.

The Tigers received contributions from every player in their lineup Saturday.

“I think all nine guys made a lot of contributions today,” Nevada coach Danny Penn said. “Case Sanderson, our three hole, had a couple real loud swings, but everyone contributed whether it was a hit bringing in runs or getting on base with a walk. Just a balanced performance offensively today.”

Offensive highlights for the Tigers included Barrett Nadurata’s double in the second, Graham Walker’s two-run single in the third, Caden Klumpp’s two-run single in the fourth and Kennedy D’Elia’s RBI single in the fifth.

The Tigers collected a dozen hits, worked seven walks against four different Carl Junction pitchers, reached twice on errors and once on a hit batter, and left seven runners behind.

“Yeah, it was a tight (strike) zone,” Penn said. “It was tight both ways so that was something that we talked with our guys about and they did a nice job early in the count laying off those pitches and either getting into a more favorable count or a walk.

“On the flip side, it did hurt Case a little bit because those pitches that are right there on the black, he was not getting those calls today so that elevated his pitch count a little bit, but I thought he did a nice job of adjusting to the strike zone and pitching to contact.”

Two days earlier, Nevada jumped out to a 6-0 lead at home against Central Ozark Conference school Carthage.

Carthage scored four runs in the fourth and two in the sixth for a tie score, but Nevada walked it off with a 7-6 win.

On Saturday, though, Nevada scored at least one run in four of the five innings and responded much sooner after Carl Junction broke on through for that first run.

“That’s something I talked with the guys about after the game,” Penn said. “Our showing today was much more representative of the team that I think we can be. We scored runs early and we kept adding. We got out to a 4-0 lead and where Thursday we stopped scoring runs and our approach changed, today we kept the same approach and put up a five-spot there in the fourth inning for a 9-0 lead. We just kept going from there.”

Nevada improved to 5-2 overall this season, including 3-1 for the week with three straight wins headed into the Smith-Cotton Tournament starting Wednesday with games against Warrensburg and Battle, and the Tigers won consecutive games against COC schools Carthage and Carl Junction.

“Early in the season, we’re playing some bigger schools,” Penn said. “We’re playing those schools that are in tough conferences to see how we stack up. We’ve had some success and got off to a good start to the season, but we’ve got to be able to make sure that we recognize those areas where we can still improve and continue growing as players so that we don’t peak too early in the season, and we keep getting better as the season progresses.”

Carl Junction received two hits from Lucas Vanlanduit and one each from Arlen Wakefield, Cody Hollingsworth, and Logan Eck, the first three hitters in the Carl Junction order.

Bentley Rowden led off the Carl Junction fourth with a walk and courtesy runner Grady Goddard scored the Bulldogs’ lone run on Vanlanduit’s RBI triple.

Wakefield beat out a covering Sanderson to the bag for an infield single in the first, but Sanderson picked off Wakefield at first.

Eck then hit a two-out single in the first, but Sanderson induced a Rowden groundout to first baseman D’Elia to retire the side.

Vanlanduit singled to left in the second, following Nevada left fielder Riddick Shook’s diving catch on a Drew Massey ball roped near the line.

Hollingsworth singled in the fifth.

Nevada scored eight runs (six earned) against starter Eck, one against Jacob Ford who struggled to find the zone and walked all four batters during his relief appearance in the fourth, and two against Massey. Only third pitcher of the day Mekhi McGarry avoided a dent to his ERA.

Carl Junction dropped to 2-5 overall entering Thursday’s conference opener on the road against Joplin.

BASEBALL: Webb City earns two wins at Red & Blue tourney

Posted on by Jason Peake

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Webb City earned a pair of wins on Saturday at the Springfield Red and Blue Tournament.

Webb City defeated Republic 13-7 and the Cardinals followed that up with a 13-2 win over Benton.

The Cardinals are now 6-4 on the season.

In Saturday’s opener, the Cardinals scored eight unanswered runs en route to the win over the Tigers.

Down 6-5 after the top of the third, the Cardinals scored three runs in the third, one run in both the fourth and fifth and three more in the sixth.

Republic got a run back in the seventh for the final margin.

Five Cardinals recorded two hits in the game—Cy Darnell, Shaun Hunt, Drew Vonder Haar, Kenley Hood and Gage Chapman.

Hunt doubled and homered. Hunt, Sam Weller and Chapman drove in two runs apiece. 

Landon Fletcher earned the pitching victory after going five innings. He allowed four earned runs, walked none and struck out five.

Brett Korth tossed two innings, striking out four and allowing one run.

Webb City used a pair of big innings to earn the win over Benton—a seven-run third and a four-run sixth. The game ended after the sixth inning due to the run-rule.

Kaylor Darnell went 2-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored. Chapman and Hunt also homered in the win. 

William Hayes went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI, while Chapman went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Cy Darnell drove in two runs on two hits, including a double. Hood had two hits and scored twice.

Vonder Haar was the winning pitcher. He went four innings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk while striking out three.

Hunter Shull pitched two innings, striking out two and giving up two runs on six hits. 

Webb City hosts McDonald County at 4:30 on Tuesday.

 

BASEBALL: Atkinson throws one-hitter, Diamond runs wild in win against McAuley Catholic

Posted on by Jason Peake

The Diamond Wildcats pieced together eight runs with a little timely hitting and lots of aggressive baserunning and received an absolute gem from senior pitcher Jacob Atkinson during an 8-1 win over the McAuley Catholic Warriors on Friday at Wendell Redden Stadium within the Joplin Athletic Complex.

McAuley Catholic opened the scoring with one run in the first, then Diamond scored eight unanswered with one in the second, four in the third, one in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Atkinson surrendered a RBI single to Noah Black in the first, then he allowed no more hits the final six innings and in fact retired the Warriors in order five of the final six innings.

“We were really aggressive today,” Diamond coach Dayton Shaw said. “We’ve been wanting to run and today was the first day that we’ve been really aggressive. We hit and run probably 10 times. That helps keep us out of double plays and gets guys in scoring position.
“Yeah, it all started with him (Atkinson) today. He kinda struggled this year. We talked today about just going right at people and not being so cute with off-speed pitches. Pound the zone with fastballs and you get ahead and you can try off-speed. With that different approach, he had his best outing of the year so far today by far.”

McAuley Catholic’s Rocco Bazzano-Joseph worked a walk in the first, stole second, and scored on Black’s two-out hit to left. Atkinson cut off left fielder Peyton Marbough’s throw and threw out Black at second to retire the side.

Grady Bentley led off the Diamond second with a walk, stole second, and scored on an Austin Girdner RBI double. The Warriors kept a tie score by throwing out Girdner at home on a grounder to third baseman Chase Gardner, who delivered a strike to catcher Bradley Wagner.

Atkinson led off the four-run Diamond third with an infield single, the Wildcats’ only hit of an inning during which the Warriors committed all three of their errors.
The Wildcats arguably showed their most aggressiveness on the bases in the third with three stolen bases, extra bases taken from errors, and one run scored on a wild pitch.

Brayden Clement and Girdner each finished with two RBI for the Wildcats and Bentley scored two runs on a day when the Wildcats racked up 13 stolen bases against the Warriors. Bentley had three steals, Clement, Matt Navarro and Thomas Gow two each, and Girdner, Marbough, Ty Stokes, and Daniel Weiss one each.

Atkinson allowed one run (earned) on one hit with seven strikeouts and two walks over seven innings. Atkinson finished with 87 pitches, 57 of them for strikes, while three McAuley Catholic pitchers combined to walk six Diamond batters.

Black had McAuley Catholic’s lone hit and lone RBI, while Bazzano-Joseph and Gardner worked the walks against Atkinson.

Diamond improved to 2-7 overall and the Wildcats’ 8-1 win Friday ended a four-game losing streak. The Wildcats are back in action Monday with their Southwest Conference opener against Pierce City.

McAuley Catholic dropped to 2-3 overall, meanwhile, and the Warriors have a home Ozark 7 Conference game Monday against Wheaton.

BASEBALL: Carthage erases six-run deficit, loses heartbreaker against Nevada

Posted on by Jason Peake

NEVADA, Mo. — The Carthage Tigers fell into a 6-0 hole entering the fourth inning during their game Thursday against host Nevada at historic Lyons Stadium.

Nevada sophomore pitcher Caden Klumpp allowed no hits over the first three innings and juniors Mason Adams and Bradyn Tate reached on consecutive walks in the third for Carthage’s first and second baserunners of the contest.

Nevada scored one in the first on a Kennedy D’Elia RBI single and then five in the third with RBI singles from D’Elia and Hunter Seaver amidst the damage.

Carthage responded with four runs in the fourth and two in the sixth to earn a tie score and sophomore Nolan Brown pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief before Nevada earned a 7-6 walkoff victory.

Junior outfielder Austin Mitchell broke up Klumpp’s no hitter with a bloop single to left, then freshman Cooper Lilienkamp delivered a three-run double and sophomore Taylor Stevens-Diggs a RBI double to start the scoring for Carthage.

“It’s frustrating as a coach because you want to be able to do that from inning one and put some pressure on them,” Carthage coach Luke Bordewick said. “We did a good job seeing pitches and it got his pitch count a little bit. That’s when we started pouncing a little bit. He had a no hitter through three. That’s not good either.

“Cooper, a big-time player. He elevates his game in those moments. He’s had a couple bases-clearing doubles for us so far this year. That was the right guy in the right spot. Baseball gods will find you if you’re there long enough.”

Brown relieved Carthage sophomore Brady Carlton, who allowed six runs over 2 1/3 innings, and retired Cade Beshore and University of Nebraska baseball commit Case Sanderson in the third to limit the damage to 6-0.

Brown retired the side in order in the fourth, pitched through one Nevada runner in the fifth, and turned a nifty 1-4 double play to end the sixth. He snagged a D’Elia line drive and doubled up Ketterman at second.

“He did a great job,” Bordewick said. “We have a shorter week in terms of varsity games this week. He’s usually a starter. Him and Brady both needed to see some innings. Brady started, he did okay, he didn’t have the best command with his stuff, and we put Nolan out there and said, ‘Stop it here.’ He did for the most part before that last inning. He stopped it and threw a lot of strikes for us.”

In the bottom of the seventh, Graham Walker singled and went to second on Seaver’s sacrifice bunt. Barrett Nadurata and Blake Woods recorded back-to-back singles, but Walker was thrown out at home. Next, Carthage was unable to corral Cade Beshore’s grounder, allowing the winning run to score.

Brown took a hard-luck loss, and he allowed one run (unearned) on six hits with three strikeouts and one walk over 4 1/3 innings.

Carlton allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits with one strikeout and three walks over his 2 1/3 innings of work.

Brown and Carlton each finished at 64 pitches.

Nevada hit 13 singles on Thursday with three by Ketterman, two each by D’Elia and Walker, and one each by Sanderson, Klumpp, Seaver, Nadurata, Brice Budd, and seventh inning pinch-hitter Woods.

Carthage finished with five hits against Nevada pitchers Klumpp, Ketterman, and Walker with Lilienkamp and Stevens-Diggs responsible for the game’s lone extra-base hits.

Mitchell, Langston Morgan, and Adams each collected singles for the visiting Tigers.

Tate, Drew Musche, Mitchell, Morgan, Lilienkamp, and Adams each scored one of Carthage’s six runs.

Carthage dropped to 1-7 overall and the Tigers will look to end their losing streak at seven games Tuesday when they host the Seneca Indians at Wendell Redden Stadium within the Joplin Athletic Complex.

“We’re a young and inexperienced group at the varsity level,” Bordewick said. “This is a game where they walked it off, but hopefully we’ll take something from it that will help us not let it happen next time.”

BASEBALL: College Heights scuffles in conference opener against Exeter

Posted on by Jason Peake

The College Heights Christian Cougars fell 4-0 to the visiting Exeter Tigers during their Ozark 7 Conference opener on Tuesday at historic Joe Becker Stadium.

Exeter pushed across two runs in the first and one each in the second and fourth, while College Heights did not get a hit against Exeter sophomore pitcher Wyatt Lemons until the fourth when College Heights junior shortstop Kelton Welch reached on an infield single.

The damage on the scoreboard could have been significantly worse for College Heights since Exeter left 12 runners on base — two in the first, two in the second, three in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth, and two in the seventh.

The Cougars finished with three hits against Lemons, who recorded nine strikeouts during his complete game shutout performance. Josh Anderson reached on an infield single in the sixth and Bo Sitton, one of only two seniors on the College Heights roster, hit a two-out double to right in the seventh.

Anderson pitched three scoreless innings of relief after coming on for senior Ben Thomas and the sophomore picked up four strikeouts to help maintain Exeter’s lead at four runs.

“Our pitchers did a good job of keeping us in it,” College Heights coach Phillip Jordan said. “Our defense, we didn’t come to play today. We have to do better. Against good teams, you’ve got to make plays and we did not. Credit to Exeter. They took advantage of our mistakes and won a baseball game.

“Lemons did a great job keeping us off-balance. He was in the zone. He was confident. We knew he was going to throw a lot of junk, he did, and we struggled. It’s just confidence. Our guys are thinking too much and we’re just at a point when we’ve got to settle down and play baseball instead of thinking about not making mistakes.”

Exeter’s Cason Antle and Joseph Hatfield each worked two-out walks against Thomas in the first, then Lemons and Levi Gautney made College Heights pay a 2-0 deficit with consecutive RBI singles.

Exeter worked the bases loaded in the second with a Kason Nelson infield single wedged in between two College Heights errors, but the Cougars limited it to a single run after left fielder Philip Thompson forced out an Exeter runner at third because he was slow to start on a ball that he thought might have been caught by Thompson and Thomas struck out Hatfield.

An error, an infield single, and two walks in the fourth produced a 4-0 Exeter advantage.

College Heights, 1-2 overall and 0-1 Ozark 7, returns to action Friday at home against the Ash Grove Pirates, who are ranked 10th in the Class 2 preseason poll from the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.

“We’re young and still learning who we are,” Jordan said. “We’ve still got a lot of baseball left to play. Hopefully, we can learn from our mistakes and build on what we’re doing well and start winning some games.”

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