Jackson baseball team upends Poplar Bluff for district crown

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Michael Houchin and Jonathan Schumer received their Jackson High School diplomas at the Show Me Center on Thursday night despite an incomplete project.

The pair, along with eight other Indian seniors, were busy Friday evening tending to the unfinished business, and to the delight of the newly knighted Jackson alums, they have more work before they can officially say goodbye to their alma mater.

The 10 seniors, with a big boost from the Class of 2017, stayed true to their school and the task at hand by delivering a baseball plaque to the school trophy case with a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Poplar Bluff in the Class 5 District 1 championship game at Wilson-Rozier Ball Park.

Jackson (21-10) set a school record for single-season wins in advancing to next week's sectional . The Indians will host District 2 winner Lindbergh on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

"This time of year is tough," Jackson coach Bryan Austin said. "We had senior graduation, we had senior all-night party, we had different things going on. That says something about our seniors, because they stayed focused on what we're trying to do here. They stayed focused on the process and didn't look ahead to their college."

The third-seeded Indians finally hung a loss on Poplar Bluff senior ace Brandon Stuckenschneider despite just four hits off the left-hander.

Stuckenschneider, who has signed to play next season at Arkansas State, had earned the win in the teams' two previous meeting this season. He pitched a complete game in a 3-0 win on April 23, and he also was the winning pitcher in a 5-4 win over the Indians in the semifinals of the SEMO Conference tournament earlier this month.

"This was our third time seeing Stuckenschneider," Austin said. "He's as advertised. He's been tough every single time, and we knew going into this we were just going to have to grit out at-bats, and that's what we did."

Stuckenschneider struck out 10 Indians, but one of his victims, senior Tyler Slinkard, reached base on a wild pitch in the fifth inning and later scored the winning run on a single by Schumer.

"They got us twice and we've seen that pitcher twice before, and the third time he left some mistakes over the plate and we took advantage of them, and we played a clean game on offense and defense," Schumer said.

The win not only avenged losses, it gave the Indians their first district title since 2010.

"We're relentless to make it all the way to O'Fallon [host site of the baseball final four]," Schumer said. "Our ultimate goal is state championship, all the way, but we're going to take it game by game, pitch by pitch, to get there."

Houchin matched Stuckenschneider. He struck out eight and did not issue a walk.

"He's been like that all year for us," Austin said. "He's going to touch the rubber and he's going to compete with all he has all the time."

Houchin threw a complete game after yielding four runs in 4 2/3 innings in Monday's quarterfinal comeback win against Hillsboro.

"He started in the Hillsboro game and didn't have his best stuff, only went about 60 pitches, made the pull, and it was nice to be able to go back to him today," Austin said.

Houchin and the Indians benefited when wet field conditions forced the title game to be moved from Wednesday to Friday.

"Honestly, we probably go a different route, because that only gives him about two days," Austin said about Houchin and the amount of rest we would have gotten for the original date of the title game.

"I would not have pitched on Wednesday," Houchin said. "Thankfully rain came. I iced my arm, stretched it and got it ready for today, and I guess it payed off."

Houchin allowed six hits, but none to a Poplar Bluff player not named Stuckenschneider or Kameron Misner. The Mules' No. 2 and No. 3 hitters each went 3 for 3, attempting to ignite rallies in the first, fourth and sixth innings with back-to-back hits. The rest of the Mules' lineup went 0 for 19.

"He was leaving everything up Monday, and kids were just able to catch up to his fastball, but today he had a lot more control, a lot more velocity and movement on his ball," sophomore catcher Colten Weber said about Houchin.

Houchin obtained five of the final 10 outs of the game by strikeout.

"He was definitely feeding off the game," Weber said.

Stuckenschneider drove in the Mules' lone run in the fourth inning, when he plated Misner, a junior, who had opened the inning with a double.

"He pitched a heck of a game ... I couldn't get him out," Houchin said with a smile about Stuckenschneider. "He's a good player, definitely."

Half of Jackson's hits off Stuckenschneider came in the second inning, where the Indians took a 1-0 lead. Senior outfielder Landon Mills and sophomore shortstop Jarrett Newell opened the frame with back-to-back singles to left field, and senior designated hitter Wyatt Eldridge advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt.

Eldridge, batting seventh, had been sidelined with a stress fracture in his left wrist and has had to yield his catching duties to Weber. He said he tries to help wherever needed, and a sacrifice bunt was right up his alley.

"I can bunt a ball, that's all I can say," Eldridge said with a grin.

Weber, batting eighth, then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Mills.

Weber also contributed with his defense, throwing out two Mules base stealers at second base.

"Colton has stepped up amazing for this team right now," Eldridge said. "At this point there's nobody better behind the plate. I could not say at any point of the season, I'm not more proud of him, because he's stepped into a role that not many people can fill. He's done a phenomenal job."

It was the first lead Jackson held against the Mules this season.

"We were playing right away for one," Austin said. "That was our goal. 'Let's score one, and then we'll tack on from there, and that was a big relief from there."

Poplar Bluff tied the score at 1-1 in the fourth, but the Mules failed to budge Stuckenschneider from second with no outs after he had advanced on a fielding error on his RBI single to right field.

Jackson turned the momentum into the game-winning run with the help of some wildness by Stuckenschneider, who issued three walks in the fifth inning.

The inning started off strangely and turned further in that direction. Weber led off with a prolonged at-bat that resulted in a walk on a 3-2 pitch, but a courtesy runner was picked off first by Stuckenschneider with Slinkard at the plate.

Slinkard, the No. 9 batter, struck out with a half swing on a curveball in the dirt, but he reached first when the ball caromed behind catcher Joe Darlin. Slinkard later moved up on a wild pitch to leadoff batter Ryan Harvey, who walked on a 3-2 pitch.

Schumer, batting in the No. 2 spot, then sent a looping liner to left-center on the first pitch from Stuckenschneider to score Slinkard for a 2-1 lead.

Schumer said he was looking for a fastball and got one.

"I got enough barrel on it to place it just right out in the outfield," Schumer said.

It was the last hit of the game for the Indians, who loaded the bases on a walk before senior outfielder Ben Maudie hit a sharp grounder that Poplar Bluff shortstop Jared Moses back-handed to start a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.

Houchin struck out the side in order in the bottom half of the fifth but ran into problems in the sixth.

With one out, Misner singled to left field and went to third when Stuckenschneider followed with a long opposite-field single down the left-field line.

The Indians then turned in the defensive play of the game when courtesy runner Austin McIntosh attempted to steal second with Darlin, the clean-up hitter, at the plate.

Weber threw to second, and Schumer, the second baseman, dashed behind the mound as if he intended to intercept the throw and make a play on Misner at third. However, Schumer let the throw go through to Newell, who applied the tag on an accurate throw.

"That's a read play," Austin said. "That's Jon Schumer reading and knowing that third is not running, so he let's the ball go through, and [Newell] has to make that play at shortstop. So that's a great play for a high school kid to be able to make, all those moving parts and actually be able to work."

Poplar Bluff coach Steven Edwards said his runner at first had a green light to run, and he found no fault with his players on a play which he credited the Indians for execution.

"I told the third baserunner, 'If he goes, ball through, you got to go home, ' and he knew that," Edwards said. "The kid said he got a good jump and the catcher made a great throw down and they made a good fake to cut. It's just a part of baseball."

Darlin struck out, stranding Misner at third.

Houchin needed only five pitches to retire the Mules in order in the seventh, striking out the final batter on three pitches -- the final a called third strike.

"Jackson's a great team, our hats off to them," Edwards said.

Edwards will only lose Stuckenschneider off a Mules team that won the SEMO Conference tournament in part of a 19-6 season.

"It's heart-breaking for the boys," Edwards said. "The season that we had, I can't be any more happier. I love these boys and I'm excited about our future. I feel bad for our lone senior, Stuckenschneider, he threw a great game, good enough to win, I thought."

Jackson 2, Poplar Bluff 1

Jackson 010 010 0 -- 2 4 2

Poplar Bluff 000 000 0 -- 1 6 0

WP -- Michael Houchin (6-2). LP -- Brandon Stuckenschneider. 2B -- Ryan Harvey (J), Kameron Misner (PB). Multiple hits -- Poplar Bluff: Misner 3-3, Stuckenschneider 3-3.