Cooter, Risco to face off in Class 1 District 1 Baseball Championship

COOTER – After a long day of baseball, quarterfinals and semifinals all at once, the Wildcats and Tigers will officially have a Class 1 District 1 championship rematch.

Fourth-seeded Clarkton came out on top of their quarterfinal against fifth-seeded Southland 13-12, a game that came down to the final play of the seventh inning. The Reindeer fell in the next game of the day, their semifinal test against first-seeded Cooter, after an explosive performance by the Wildcats that upheld their high seed 21-0.

In similar fashion, third-seeded Naylor downed sixth-seeded Gideon 15-0 to quickly advance to play second-seeded Risco in the second semifinal. Risco managed some timely hits while the Tiger defense went to work to win 5-3.

Cooter and Risco play for the district championship Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

__Cooter 21, Clarkton 0__

It only took two and a half innings for the Wildcats to win 21-0 over Clarkton on Monday.

“Our schedule has been brutal, and we've been seeing a lot of number one's for about two weeks,” Cooter coach David Mathis said. “We've been playing a lot of 3, 4 and 5A schools, and you could tell today. We were a little lively with the bats.”

On the very first pitch of Cooter's first at-bat, Rhoads Lynn doubled on a line drive which Hayden Nazarenus followed up with a home run. Up next, Luke Barnes hammered a home run and Brayson Green added another before the end of the first inning.

Cooter's Luke Barnes watches for a pitch before hitting a home run in a district semifinal game against Clarkton on Monday.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

“Lynn, our leadoff guy, has been hot all year and having an All-State type season,” Mathis said. “Nazarenus has about seven or eight home runs, and Barnes is about the same. Really, our one to four has been keeping us alive while the bottom hasn't really been hitting.”

Eventually, Lynn, Barnes, Green, Talan King, Tyson Banks, Carson Swan and Pearce Watkins all crossed home plate to lead by a staggering 13-0 after the first inning.

The Wildcats added eight more runs in the second inning to rack up a total of 15 hits, 21 runs and 20 RBIs.

Talan King pitched 2.2 innings and threw a no-hitter with seven strikeouts. Jeremy Snyder came in for the last out and closed the door with one final strikeout.

“Our pitching has been really, really good all year long,” Mathis said. “That's why our record is as good as it is. Talan King has been really good for us on the mound and hitting the baseball against high velocity. You're going to have to pitch and play defense going forward to win those 3-2, 4-2 games.”

Last spring, Cooter defeated Risco 12-2 for the championship title. Earlier this season Cooter beat the Tigers again, but by a much closer 4-2 margin.

“Risco's capable of beating us, and so is Naylor,” Mathis said of the impending championship. “Then, obviously, Oran is in the final four every year and we'll have to beat them if they get through. None of those are gimmes, but we're hoping to get by. If we hit like we did today, we'll be hard to beat for anybody.”

__Risco 5, Naylor 3__

After a two-inning defensive contest, Naylor struck first as Brock Woolard stole home in the top of the third inning Monday. To set the tone of the rest of the game, Risco's Kadin Carlisle knocked out a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the third and tie.

“We got down early, but we got some timely hits,” Risco coach Brandon Blankenship said. “That home run from Kadin Carlisle, his first career home run, that was a huge hit that helped us come back immediately. The other really big hit was Aaron Denson, that two-out RBI. That was huge.”

Risco's Kadin Carlisle attempts to throw out a runner at first base in a district semifinal game against Naylor on Monday.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

After the Tigers' defense led Naylor to another scoreless frame, Risco's Aaron Denson stepped up to the plate with two outs, Carlos Vargas scored on an error and Denson hit a double to bring in Memphis Hickerson and Carlisle.

Naylor added a run in both the fifth and sixth innings contributed by Cameron Sarabia and Woolard, but Risco's added their final run in the sixth as well as Carlisle's sacrifice fly brought in Jacob Bobo.

Risco's Landon Baker pitched 5.2 innings. He allowed seven hits and three runs, only one an earned run, and struck out eight batters. He was relieved by Garrett Hicks for the last inning who allowed two hits and no runs.

“It starts with pitching, and Landon Baker did a fantastic job for us,” Blankenship said. “He just attacks pitchers and puts a lot of balls in the strike zone. Garrett's another strike-thrower and competitor. We have confidence in him to come in and close out games, and we just have to make some plays behind him.”

Naylor did not make Risco's win easy, however. Eagles starting pitcher Kyle Tubb held his own on the mound for 4.1 innings and struck out five batters, but allowed six hits and four earned runs.

“Things aren't supposed to be easy, and that's why we play a tough regular season,” Blankenship said. “Resiliency is a word we use a lot. If you strike out at the plate, resiliency says you go out there and make a play. We did a good job of that today. If something bad happened, we bounced back quickly.”

While the Tigers' rematch against Cooter won't be an easy task either, Risco is ready for the challenge.

“We know what Cooter is,” Blankenship said. “We know they're going to be tough and they'll have lights out starting pitching. We'll have to do anything we can to get on base. We just have to believe in each other and make some plays. We're happy to be back and give it all we've got.”