Jackson trio reunites, striking big as Catfish cruise past O'Fallon

After taking third place at the MSHSAA Class 6 state championships on Saturday, it didn’t take long for three members of the Jackson baseball team to transition to the Prospect League.

Jackson graduates Caden Bogenpohl and Quinton Borders took the field for their Cape Catfish debuts on Monday night, with assistant coach Jason Chavez in the dugout as the trio went from MSHSAA baseball to the Prospect League in less than two days.

“I'm proud of them,” Chavez said. “To close it out with a win with Jackson and bottle up all those emotions of the last time playing high school ball together with the rest of their guys and being able to come out here and play, it's pretty sweet. They did a great job.”

Borders and Bogenpohl are both signed to continue their baseball careers in college, with Borders signed to the NJCAA’s Crowder College and Bogenpohl signed to Missouri State.

Both players started in their debuts for the Catfish, Borders manning third base as he did for the Indians while Bogenpohl settled into a designated hitter role for Cape as the Catfish cruised to a 14-0 win against the O’Fallon Hoots on Monday night.

Borders finished his night with a team-leading four times reaching base, walking three times while hitting once to finish with a perfect night at the plate, scoring twice and batting in a run. Bogenpohl ended the night with one hit, being stranded on third base in the sixth inning.

After finding much success in their senior seasons at Jackson and reuniting with Chavez in the Catfish dugout, it didn’t take long for the two to find success in the Prospect League.

“It's been amazing,” Borders said. “It’s really a dream come true because I always know I have those guys to look up to, and they always have my back, for sure.”

The Prospect League serves as a gateway between the college and professional levels, with wooden bats serving as one of the key changes players face in the transition, while facing higher-level college athletes is another large challenge in the transition.

While going from high school to Prospect League before even stepping foot on college campus is certainly a difficult transition for the two players, they’ve taken the move in stride as both hit in their debut as the Catfish cruised to a lopsided win.

“I was just looking to have a good time,” Bogenpohl said. “Get to know the guys a little bit, and it looks like it'll be a great group of guys, they’re really fun. I was trying to get my feet wet right there, and that first hit was a good one. The transition from metal to wood can be tough sometimes. Facing these college guys, it's gonna be a little different jump, but we'll get used to it.”