Jackson earns revenge, sweeps Squirrels

The Jackson Senior Babe Ruth baseball team had a magical season last year, going 33-7 and finishing as the Midwest Plains Regional runner-up.

But one thing the squad could not do was beat Charleston, losing all four meetings to the Fighting Squirrels.

Jackson already has gotten that objective out of the way this year, holding off three-time defending state champion Charleston 13-8 in the opener of Wednesday's doubleheader that kicked off the SEMO South Conference schedule.

Host Jackson finished the sweep with an 8-7 second-game victory to remain undefeated.

"They're our rivals," said Austin Mueller, the winning pitcher in the opener. "It's nice to beat them after losing to them four times last year."

Jackson pitcher Austin Mueller fields a bunt by a Charleston player during Wednesday's first game. (LAURA SIMON ~ lsimonsemissourian.com)

Jackson lost several of its premier players from last summer, including its top pitchers.

Coach Paul Sander has been pleasantly surprised by the way his group has performed so far. Jackson is off to an 8-0 start.

"We lost several [high school] all-staters, basically all our pitchers. We lost a lot," Sander said. "But we had some pitchers come on late last year and pitching has been a high point where we thought it would be a worry. We're deeper than what we expected. And our offense has been good. We've scored a lot of runs.

"To be 8-0, that would be more than anybody would have expected. These guys have really stepped up."

Mueller, one of the hurlers Sander mentioned as coming on strong late last summer, said he believes Jackson can have another big season.

Jackson's Matt Stueve connects to advance to second base Wednesday, June 9, 2010 during Jackson's home game against Charleston. (Laura Simon)

"We miss the guys who left, but we've had guys step up. I feel like we have more depth," Mueller said. "I love the team, no complaints. We get along with each other. I feel we can go a long way."

Wednesday's opener saw Jackson take advantage of several Charleston errors to build an early 12-1 lead before the Fighting Squirrels battled back to make a game of things.

"I have the utmost respect for Charleston," Sander said. "They're the three-time defending state champions. ... We knew, even when we were up 12-1, they would come back."

Jackson led 3-1 before exploding for nine third-inning runs. Only two were earned thanks to four errors, but Jackson did have six hits in the frame.

"We didn't play defense and we didn't throw strikes," said Charleston coach Michael Minner, a Cape Girardeau native whose squad is 2-7.

Zach Pobst had a two-run single in the big third inning, while Trent Steffens, Spencer Sander and Matt Stueve all delivered RBI doubles.

Steffens and Sander both had two of Jackson's 11 hits.

"We hit the ball well," coach Sander said.

Charleston made it 12-8 with a seven-run fourth inning that featured six hits, including a two-RBI triple by James Naile.

Mueller allowed one run and two hits through three innings before being roughed up in the fourth.

"I pitched three good innings. I don't know what happened in the fourth," Mueller said.

Alex Beussink, who also came on strong late last year, earned a well-deserved save as he allowed one hit in three scoreless innings to close out the win. He struck out three and walked none.

"He pitched his heart out," Sander said.

Jackson won the nightcap on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Steffens drew a leadoff walk, Sander singled and Beussink walked to load the bases. Steffens then scored on the wild pitch.

Steffens, Sander and Clay Roth all had two of Jackson's 11 hits.

Beussink pitched the first four innings. Jesse Long worked the final three frames for the win.

While Charleston is off to a slow start, Minner isn't worried. Coach Sander said he still considers the Fighting Squirrels the favorite not only to win the conference but also to four-peat as state champions.

"The year we went to the [Senior Babe Ruth] World Series we started 1-11," Minner said. "It's early in the season. By the end of the year we'll be ready."