Jackson stays hot with pair of wins over Perryville

Jackson's American Legion team did not display its best stuff on Thursday night in Jackson, but what it showed was good enough for a doubleheader sweep of Perryville.

The RE/MAX Achievers dropped Perryville 6-2 and 7-3 in two sloppily played games. Jackson (20-7) only managed five hits in each of the two games.

"We played well enough to win, that's the way we played," Jackson coach Mark Lewis said.

The night started off strong for the Achievers, with Tyler Profilet getting Jackson's offense off to a good start with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second inning. Profilet's solo shot led to a big inning for Jackson.

Trevor Thompson and Brandon Cooper followed with hot shots down the third base line that the third basemen couldn't handle. A walk to Tim Stearns loaded the bases, and Aaron Green took a pitch off his side to bring in a run.

Trey Busch drove home two more runs with a double. After another walk, Zach Brazer drove home a pair of runs to make the score 6-0. That was all the offense the Achievers needed as three Jackson pitchers closed the door on Perryville.

Perryville's lone bright spot came from reliever Phillip Buerck, who shut down Jackson over the last four innings. Buerck allowed only one hit.

Perryville's offense managed only three hits and scored its two runs off Jackson starter Tony Longman on wild pitches in the third inning.

Brandon Gendron, who drove in a run in Jackson's six-run second, pitched the final two innings for a save. Gendron followed Josh Snell who also pitched two innings after Longman went three.

Lewis said he was really pleased with the way Gendron threw.

"I thought Brandon Gendron did a great job in both games," he said.

Jackson takes second gameGendron pinned down Jackson's second win as well, throwing the final two innings.

With Jackson trailing 3-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth, Brazor and Gendron took walks to put runners on first and second with no outs. Perryville retired the next two batters, but Brandon Cooper followed with an RBI single, and Jason Owen drove in the winning run with a two-run triple.

A.J. Seiler pitched the first five innings for Jackson for the win. Seiler allowed only two hits and did not allow an earned run.

"I thought A.J. Seiler did a good job in game two," Lewis said.

Gendron added a two-run single in the fifth to give Jackson a 7-3 lead. Brazor had a pair of hits in the second game to lead Jackson's five-hit attack.

Jackson still has two district games ahead of it this week. The Achievers will face Cape Girardeau in a makeup game from Tuesday's rainout at 2 p.m. Saturday at Central High School. Jackson plays Dunklin County in a doubleheader on Sunday.