Jackson juniors eye a state bid

Fresh off an impressive performance in last week's District 14 tournament, the Jackson Junior American Legion Post 158 enters play in this week's Zone 4 Tournament in Festus, Mo., with a loftier goal in mind: qualifying for next week's state tournament in Joplin, Mo.

But first things first. Post 158 needs to win its way through a field that features some impressive competition.

Jackson (33-5) begins tournament play today, taking on the winner of Ste. Genevieve/Park Hills at 7 p.m.

Jackson was scheduled to play Ste. Genevieve twice this season, but both were rained out.

"They're always good," Jackson coach Gerald Adams cautioned.

Adams, though, brings a team that is no stranger to post-season play.

"Most of them have been to the state tournament, some of them twice," Adams said of a squad that has tasted state tournament success at both the freshman and junior American Legion levels. "This is a bunch that's played a lot of games. They've been to state. They're not awed by the situation."

Jackson sports a squad that is adept at hitting, pitching and defense. They've turned heads all season long by their ability to think on their feet and play smart baseball.

"They've done that all year," Adams said. "They have a high baseball IQ. They know where the ball is supposed to go before it's hit to them."

That type of defense has limited the number of high-scoring innings allowed by a veteran pitching staff headed by three pitchers with five wins on the season.

Tyler Slinkard, who pitched a complete-game in last week's 7-2 win over Sikeston that clinched the District 14 title, is 5-0 on the season with a 1.12 ERA. Zach Elfrink is 5-1 with a 1.98 ERA, while Jonathan Litchfield is 5-1 with a 2.63 ERA.

Offensively, center fielder Ryan Harvey is the table-setter. Leading off, Harvey is hitting at a .410 clip with 38 hits and 25 stolen bases. He also leads the team with 30 runs batted in.

Dalton Tripp (.433), Garrett Reynolds (.379), Wyatt Eldridge (.367), Josh Barber (.366) and Litchfield (.365) also carry gaudy averages into the tournament.

That depth leads to a lot of high-scoring innings for Jackson, which can often quickly put a game out of reach.

"And we've had [hitting] with two outs," Adams said. "The inning is never over until the third out."