Bogenpohl leads the way in Jackson’s win over CBC

JACKSON - With plenty of eyes on him, the bat and arm of Caden Bogenpohl carried the Jackson Indians to a 10-1 win over the CBC Cadets.

After giving up a solo home run in the top of the 1st, Bogenpohl settled in to go 6 innings, allowing 2 hits and racking up 7 strikeouts.

“It was a windy day,” Bogenpohl said. “I just had to move on, flush it and get the next batter.”

Indians coach Josh Roach was impressed with the way Bogenpohl settled in after the solo shot.

“He was the number one like we know he can be,” Roach said. “He’s a top-level arm and he’s going to be able to compete with big teams like (CBC).”

With the Indians still trailing 1-0, Bogenpohl’s big moment came on a 3-0 count in the bottom of the third as he unloaded on a fastball to right field to give Jackson a 3-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“I got to 3-0 and decided to let one rip,” Bogenpohl said. “I was sitting on a dead red fastball, I got it and didn’t miss it.”

With how much Roach has seen Bogenpohl hit in practice, he knew what his approach would be.

“I knew he was looking for a fastball to drive,” Roach said. “I’ve seen him in practices daily on this field hit monster shots and I was like if he gets it somewhere close he’s going to take a hack and he did and hit it a long way.”

After the 3-run 3rd inning, the Indians were able to make quick work of the Cadets in the top of the 4th to let their bats get back to work.

“That’s the key to anything,” Roach said. “One of the things we preach to our guys is when you get a lead, extend it. We were able to do that tonight and did a really good job.”

The bottom of the 4th saw the Indians’ bats continue to roll as Jackson Wyatt and Grant Dotson opened the inning with back-to-back singles before Henley Parker walked to load the bases.

Quinton Borders singled to make it 4-1 and the next batter, Baden Hackworth grounded into a fielder's choice to make it 5-1.

Despite there being two outs in the inning, senior Landon Watkins delivered with a 2-run single to put Jackson up 7-1.

The Indians were able to scratch across 3 more runs in the bottom of the 6th to push the lead to 10-1 before retiring the side in the 7th to seal the win.

Just 6 days ago on March 22, the Cadets beat Jackson 16-7.

“We didn’t play great defense and made some silly mental mistakes,” Roach said. “We cleaned it up today and played a lot better.”

Jackson (5-2) will be back in action at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29 when the Indians host Ste. Genevieve.

“(This win) was a big momentum booster,” Roach said. “We knew this was a big game for us and getting this one under our belt can build a lot of confidence. We’re kind of stepping into the team we knew we could be and now we just have to keep moving forward.”