Indians claim district crown

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Jackson was led to the Class 4 District 1 championship Wednesday at Wilson-Rozier Park in Farmington by its veteran leaders.

Senior Tyler Beussink was the winning pitcher in the 8-2 victory against Poplar Bluff.

Senior Jason Meystedt cracked a home run that finally put the Indians on the board in the fourth inning.

And sophomore Rex Meyr came through with a two-out, bases-loaded triple in the fourth that broke a 1-1 tie and broke the game open.

"You think he's a sophomore, but he's not," Beussink said. "He plays like a senior, and we treat him like a senior. What a time for him to come up with that hit there."

That time was after Beussink had struck out with the bases loaded for the second out, as top-seeded Jackson was nearly thwarted in a rally for the second consecutive inning. But Meyr, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup who has been a starter at shortstop for two years, cracked a triple into left field that eluded a diving Skyler Holeman and rolled to the wall.

"We do have mostly seniors," Jackson coach Rex Crosnoe said, "but we have some young guys that stepped up with big hits as well."

Meyr came in to score when senior Derrick Biri bunted and slid under the attempted tag at first base. That capped a five-run inning that began with Meystedt's solo home run and put Jackson ahead 5-1.

Jackson added two more in the fifth inning and another in the sixth to make Beussink the winner.

"Oh man," Beussink said. "It's been since our freshman year since we won a district title. It feels good to bring it back to Jackson. Last year, we were the top seed and we disappointed everyone when we lost to Farmington. This year, we got it done."

Jackson (19-3) plays host on May 26 to either Eureka or Francis Howell, who are scheduled to play today for the district championship at Howell.

"We have confidence, and our goal is the state championship," Meyr said. "We feel we can play with anyone."

Added Beussink: "We've got the pitching, we've got the hitting. We're going to stay within ourselves, take nothing for granted and play our game."

The Indians took nothing for granted Wednesday from a sixth-seeded Poplar Bluff team that had upset No. 3 Central in the first round and No. 2 Farmington in the semifinal.

"It was the first time we had seen that pitcher, so we knew it was going to be difficult," Beussink said.

Poplar Bluff starter Seth Blackwell, making his first start on the mound after suffering an injury in the basketball season, managed his first three innings with just two hits and no runs.

In that time, Poplar Bluff had claimed a 1-0 lead.

Craig Landford doubled to left field with one out in the first inning and, after moving to third on a fielder's choice, he scored when Canon Bagby singled on a hard groundball down the third base line.

Poplar Bluff had a chance to add more runs in the third, getting runners at first and third with no outs. But after Landford popped out, Adam Ivie was caught trying to steal second and No. 3 hitter John Patty grounded out to end the threat.

Jackson had its own chance in the bottom half with a single by Beussink and a two-base throwing error by Blackwell on Meyr's bunt. But after Derrick Biri struck out, Chad Minson flied out to left field, and Holeman gunned down Beussink at home.

Blackwell didn't make it through the fourth inning, however.

Meystedt drove a home run to center field to lead off the frame.

"I think that really ignited our offense emotionally," Beussink said. "That got us going."

After Blackwell retired a batter, he walked Trey Busch and Luke Crader and was replaced by Patty. Zach Brazer singled to loaded the bases, and Beussink struck out to set up Meyr's dramatic hit.

"I'm always confident in my ability," said Meyr, who was under pressure situations with some snaps at quarterback for Jackson this past fall. "I was just waiting to see what he was coming with, and it was a changeup inside. I just turned on it."

Beussink gave up just one hit the rest of the way, a double to Eric Callahan in the top of the seventh inning that drove in Holeman, who had been hit with a pitch. The game ended when the next batter, Logan Boles, hit a groundball that Minson turned into a 5-3-5 double play.

Beussink finished his six-hitter with no walks and four strikeouts.

"Tyler has done that for us all year," Crosnoe said.

"He gets outs, and he keeps us in the game. He gives us an opportunity to get our offense going."

Jackson's offense added two runs in the fifth, taking advantage of a two-base throwing error and a walk before Luke Crader's sacrifice fly and Brazer's RBI single.

The Indians scored one more in the sixth to make it 8-1 when Biri hit a single, stole second and went to third on the throwing error before Meystedt drilled an RBI double.

All the while there were few smiles on the Jackson faces and many looks of determination.

"We wanted to take care of business first, then celebrate," Beussink said.

"We had gotten to this game last year and didn't play well at all," Crosnoe said. "We worked hard all year long and this was one of their goals, to get to this point."

JACKSON 8, POPLAR BLUFF 2

Poplar Bluff 100 000 1 - 2 6 3

Jackson 000 521 x - 8 10 1

WP - Tyler Beussink. LP - Seth Blackwell. 2B - Craig Landford (PB), Blackwell (PB), Eric Callahan (PB), Jason Meystedt (J). 3B - Rex Meyr (J), HR - Meystedt (J). Multiple hits - Jackson, Derrick Biri 2-4, Meystedt 2-4, Beussink 2-3, Zach Brazer 2-3.

Records - Jackson, 19-3.