Dexter BB rallies for SCAA W over rival Bernie

ADVANCE – The pressure on Dexter High School senior pitcher Brock Wyman was palpable in Tuesday’s Stoddard County Athletic Association Baseball Tournament game against rival Bernie at Westfield Park in Advance.

The Bearcats had rallied with three runs in the sixth inning to take a 6-5 lead, as the Mules took their final at-bat.

Bernie hitter Hunter Newton had reached base on an error to lead-off the seventh inning, before advancing to third base on a double by Jayden Robinette.

With two outs and the game hanging in the balance, first-year Dexter coach Steve Edwards traipsed to the mound for a word with Wyman.

“I told Brock to stay relaxed,” Edwards said. “We’re not going to put (Bernie hitter Taylor Stanfield) on. We don’t have to. Let’s go after him.”

With that confidence boost, Wyman got Stanfield to hit a bouncing grounder to Bearcat shortstop Cole Nichols, who threw Stanfield out to end the game.

“Brock did his job,” Edwards said.

Wyman “did his job” long before that inning.

The Mules had taken a 5-0 lead on Bearcat senior pitcher Kaeden Kennedy by the second inning and Edwards knew he couldn’t let the game get out of hand much longer.

He inserted Wyman in to pitch and moved Kennedy back to catcher, and Wyman ultimately allowed no earned runs in five innings of work.

“We were kind of flat,” Edwards said of the slow start. “We picked up the energy and made that in-game adjustment.”

Dexter (7-6) added a run in the third inning off of Mule starter Robinette, and another two runs in the fourth inning, before taking the lead late.

“It’s focus,” Bernie coach Marcus Massey said. “That is something that I’ve talked to (the team) about all year. We will lose focus on things at certain times.”

In an earlier game with Dexter, Bernie (7-8) held a 6-0 lead before allowing the Bearcats to fight back with four runs in their final at-bat.

“I’ll have to tell them ‘Hey guys, let’s regroup here,’” Massey continued. “We’ve got to regain focus. We’ve lost it.”

While Wyman was shutting Bernie down on the mound, Dexter Beau Carrier was pacing his team at the plate.

Carrier finished the game with three hits, as many RBI, and scored twice, as he connected with a double.

“Beau can hit any pitch, really,” Edwards said.

Dexter got two hits and an RBI from sophomore Jackson Howard, while Nolan Alford (one run), Cole Gibson (one run, one hit), Houston Neely (one run, one hit, one walk), Kennedy (one run, one hit, one walk), Nichols (two RBI, one hit), Hunter Larson (one hit), Cooper Buchanan (one hit), and Ryan Young (one hit, one walk) also contributed.

Wyman allowed four hits while striking out five Bernie hitters and walking one.

“His curveball was working well,” Edwards said of Wyman.

Bernie senior Landon Ellsworth was one for four Mule hitters to tally a pair of hits each.

Ellsworth added two runs, while Newton (two hits, one run, one RBI), Leightin Hicks (two hits, one run, one walk), Cody Massey (two hits, one run, one RBI), Owen Bewley (one hit, two RBI), Reece Justice (one hit), and Robinette (one hit) were also productive.

Robinette allowed five earned runs in five innings of pitching while striking out six and walking three.

Justice struck out three Bearcat batters and gave up no earned runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Dexter moves on to face Woodland in today’s title game, while Bernie battles Advance in today’s third-place game.