Jackson Senior Legion’s early successes bring promise to new squad

After finishing just short of the state tournament last season, Jackson Senior Legion Post 158 has reloaded and is preparing for another postseason run.

So far, so good. Jackson swept district rival Sikeston at Jackson Indian Stadium on Wednesday, June 14, and has logged just one loss to maintain a 7-1 record entering the later stages of June.

“There were a lot of good things,” Jackson coach Mark Lewis said. “But I felt like we still need some work on being together and knowing what we're supposed to be and all that stuff.”

While the team returns a good bit of talent from the previous season, such as the veteran bat of Cecil Abernathy and the pitching talent of Lane VanGennip, new faces surround the team. Some young, some old, all looking for their chance at playing time.

Jacob Johnson tallied eight total bases in the doubleheader series with Sikeston, hitting a home run in the first game while doubling in the second. To-be Jackson senior Garrison Brown batted for five bases of his own in the second game alone, doubling twice to push Jackson to a 12-6 win and seal the series.

“It's kind of a funny roster,” Lewis said. “We do have some experienced guys, but then we’ve got some young ones mixed in there. We've sprinkled in some new guys. It's kind of neat to try to figure out what they do and where they play.

“With our younger teams, being able to move the kids up and down, we’re kind of taking a look at them and getting a chance to move kids around and figure out what they are. In summer ball, you're going to be missing guys all the time. That's just the way it is. So it's also an exciting to be able to get, you know, different guys different looks and stuff.”

The team maintains a roster with a slew of college baseball talent, and the production of the team has put the team on the map for the postseason.

Lewis understands the talent that his team carries, but is hesitant to place any expectations on his squad as the team nears the midseason.

“They've done a great job,” Lewis said. “It's easy whenever you got guys that are pretty good players too. It's been a lot of fun. They've done a good job early in the season. Our pitching has been pretty strong, so hopefully we can stay with that and kind of go from there.

“I'm not really putting a ceiling or anything on them, I'm just trying to build and kind of play with it, kind of see what I got. I really couldn't say if we're the frontrunners or not, because I don't really know where they're gonna fall. I've been surprised by different things so far early in the season. Some good, some bad, but we'll see. It’s been a good group so far.”