Jackson baseball team falls to Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Brandon Stuckenschneider did it all Thursday.

The Poplar Bluff senior hit a go-ahead single with two outs, added a two-run home run and -- by the way -- tossed a three-hit shutout, striking out eight as the Mules beat Jackson 3-0 at Strenfel Memorial Field.

"It was a blast," Stuckenschneider said. "Those games are always fun, well-played games."

The Mules (13-2, 4-1 SEMO) needed just an hour and 17 minutes to beat Jackson (14-6, 5-2) for an edge in both conference and district seeding.

"That game there was a battle all the way through," Mules coach Steve Edwards said.

Said Jackson coach Bryan Austin, "It was a great pitcher's battle. Both of those guys are top-notch pitchers."

Jackson's Michael Houchin struck out six, walked none and allowed three runs on five hits in six innings. He threw just 77 pitches, retiring the Mules in order three times with nine pitches or less.

Stuckenschneider was equally economical, throwing 86 pitches and extending his shutout streak to 17 innings after no-hitting Central on Saturday. The senior lefty lowered his ERA to 0.61, improving to 5-0 in seven starts.

"We were both aggressive," Stuckenschneider said. "That's what you've got to do against good pitchers. Turned out in our favor today."

The Mules took advantage of a passed ball to score in the bottom of the first. Dalton Cooper lined a single with one out and moved to second on a ball in the dirt five pitchers later. Stuckenschneider hit a 1-1 pitch to center to easily score Cooper running with two outs from second.

"Getting the run early put the pressure on them a little bit," Edwards said. "Our defense played well again."

The Mules earned their fifth shutout of the season and have given up an average of 1.9 runs per game.

Houchin struck out five through three innings before Kameron Miser led off the fourth with a double down the right-field line. Stuckenschneider pounced on the next pitch for a 3-0 lead.

"He had us early, honestly, we had to make adjustments in the game," Edwards said.

Stuckenschneider said he picked up on Houchin's curveball and knew he could drive it.

"Really didn't think it was gone, I thought I hit a sac fly moving Kameron over, did a job, but it went over," Stuckenschneider said of his second home run in three games.

After striking out the next hitter, his last, Houchin got help from his defense to keep the Mules close. The left side of the Indians defense took away four hits as shortstop Jarrett Newell snared two line drives while third baseman Cameron Duke make a leaping catch of a liner and took care of a slow roller to his left.

"Their defense was phenomenal," Stuckenschneider said. "It always is, it's always great. They throw a lot of strikes, they play good [defense], that's how you win ballgames."

Jackson had beaten Poplar Bluff 15 straight times dating back to 2004 before the Mules won 4-0 last season in the conference tournament.

Ben Maudie had two of Jackson's three hits Thursday while Duke got a two-out single in the first inning.

The Mules threw out a runner in the second and third innings. First, Stuckenschneider erased a leadoff hit with a pickoff while a dropped-third strike turned into a double play after a leadoff walk as catcher Joe Darlin threw out the runner.

Stuckenschneider retired the final nine in a row after a leadoff single by Maudie in the fifth. An error by Stuckenschneider on a pickoff attempt allowed Maudie to reach third with two outs but the next hitter struck out on five pitches.

"We knew going into today it was going to be No. 1 (pitcher) vs. No. 1," Austin said. "It was going to be a battle."