Cheney's power display lifts Jackson

JACKSON -- Jackson Post 158 slugger Ryan Cheney seems able to smash over the fence any pitch Cape Girardeau Post 63 hurler Garrett Stevens throws.

Cheney smacked two more home runs against Stevens on Tuesday night.

Cheney has gone 5-for-7 with four home runs and one double against Stevens in the last three games where the two players have met, dating back to the high school baseball season.

Cheney smashed a curveball over the left-center field fence during the second inning Tuesday. He then blasted a fastball for a solo shot over the wall in left during the third.

"He has my number," Stevens said. "He's hit a home run off me all the time. ... It's just another day."

Cheney's two early bombs helped the Jackson American Legion baseball team build a 10-2 lead through four innings. Despite a late comeback by Ford and Sons, Jackson was able to hold on to win 11-8 at Jackson City Park.

Jackson has beaten Ford and Sons in both district games the teams have played this summer, and also beat Cape Girardeau 19-3 this past weekend in a tournament in Paducah, Ky.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Post 63 shortstop Blake Smith charged a ground ball Tuesday against Jackson.

Cheney said Stevens left the curveball high. The fastball, he said, was on the inner half of the plate and also high in the zone.

"He's a good pitcher and he makes a lot of good pitches," Cheney said. "You've got to lay off his good ones and wait for him to make a mistake. I was able to execute on his mistakes tonight. I'm feeling pretty good. I went down to Paducah and hit really well and it's carried. We'll see how long the streak lasts."

Stevens was knocked out of the game after three-plus innings. He allowed nine runs on eight hits while walking two batters.

"It's just one of those days," Stevens said. "Everyone has their good days and bad days. They've just got my number over there. They've all seen me so much. We've played baseball for the last five or six years against those guys and they all know me and they all know what I do. So I'm just going to have to make a big adjustment if I pitch against them again. ... There should be no excuses. I'm better than what I'm showing."

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Jackson center fielder Blake Reiminger pulled in a shallow fly ball as second baseman Ethan Devenport came out to help.

Ford and Sons took a 2-0 lead in the first on an error by Jackson third baseman Kyle Reynolds with two outs.

Jackson overcame the early deficit by scoring three in the bottom of the second. Two runs scored on Cheney's homer. Melvin Johnson stroked an RBI double to make it 3-2.

Jackson built a 6-2 lead in the third. Chad Scroggins led off with a walk. He stole second with one out and scored when Blake Reiminger singled to right field.

Reiminger later scored on a ground out by Jake Hime. Cheney's second homer with two outs in the inning gave Jackson a 6-2 advantage.

Jackson's Blake Reiminger stole second as Cape Girardeau second baseman Hide Tanaka awaited the throw.

"He [Cheney] had some good swings today," Jackson coach Mark Lewis said. "I thinks it's trying to get a good pitch off of him [Stevens]. He's a good pitcher. We've just been focused on getting good strikes in the count and trying to lay off the bad ones."

Jackson scored four more runs in the fourth inning on three hits and one error to claim a 10-2 advantage. The inning included a home run by Reynolds.

Cape Girardeau cut into the lead in the fifth inning with five earned runs on four hits all off Jackson starter Ethan Sachs, who was the winning pitcher.

"I started leaving the ball over the middle of the plate a little bit more than I was in the beginning," Sachs said. "So they're going to hit it more since it's over the plate."

Cape 200 050 1 -- 8 9 4

Jackson 033 410 X -- 11 11 4

WP -- Ethan Sachs. LP -- Garrett Stevens. HR -- Brian Cheney 2 (J), Kyle Reynolds (J). 2B -- Melvin Johnson (J), Adam Smithey (C), Stevens (C). Multiple hits -- Jackson: Jake Hime 2-4, Cheney 2-3, Reynolds 2-4. Cape Girardeau: Smithey 2-3, Stevens 3-4.