Jackson uses early offense to beat Kennett

Rain tried to prevent the SEMO Conference Baseball semifinals from happening, but after a three-hour delay, games were able to be played.

In the opening semifinal in Jackson, it was the host Indians and the tournament’s No. 1 seed, taking on the No. 4 seed Kennett Indians in a rematch of the championship from last season.

In the end, it was Jackson downing Kennett 6-2 to advance to the championship game on Monday night.

“It’s always a little challenging,” Indians coach Josh Roach said of the rain. “The good thing about high school kids is that they’re resilient. We got them started early and they were ready to roll.”

Jackson handed the ball to Adrian Fox who worked around a two-out walk in the top of the first to quickly get his offense to work.

On the opposing end, Kennett gave Ashton Williams the start in the pivotal semifinal contest.

Fox was rewarded for his quick work as Waylon Hale led off the home half of the first with a walk, followed by a Cooper Rhodes single that saw Rhodes move up to second after a throwing error to give Jackson runners on second and third with nobody out.

“It just sets the tone,” Roach said “It gets the engine going for the rest of our guys and gets them excited and then they feed off that.”

Owen Osborne plated the games first run after he bounced on to Kennett shortstop Matthew Gardner to give Jackson a 1-0 lead.

The next batter, Jaiden Glency, drew a walk and Peyton Kight reached on an infield single to score Rhodes and make it 2-0 Jackson.

The final run of Jackson’s hot start in the first came when Drake Weber reached on an error to make it 3-0.

“As a pitcher anytime you get a little bit of a lead it takes some pressure off you,” Roach said. “Adrian went out there and threw a bunch of strikes and did a great job.”

It appeared Kennett was going to quickly get the three runs back as Fox worked himself into trouble with a walk and a pair of hit-by-pitches, but Fox induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and stranded the bases loaded.

“A ground ball is a pitcher's best friend,” Roach said.

In the bottom of the second, Jackson continued to add on as Drew Parsons singled to begin the inning and Adler Flinn doubled to once again set the Indians up with nobody out.

Garrison Brown ripped a sacrifice fly to score Parsons and extend Jackson’s lead to 4-0.

“That’s something that’s the identity of our team right now,” Roach said. “We don’t have the big home run hitters like we did last year but this year we’re playing as a unit. They’re playing selfless and doing whatever they have to do.”

After Williams retired Rhodes on strikes in the second, Kennett coach Aaron New made a pitching change, turning the ball over to Kade Anderson.

Williams’ final line was 1.2 IP, allowing 4 runs (3ER) on two walks and four hits.

“We knew he was going to be pitching and our guys were ready for him,” Roach said. “What I love about this group is they’re not really intimidated by a lot.”

Kennett scratched a run across in the top of the third to make it 5-1 as John Poole scored on a wild pitch with two outs in the inning.

Roach would pull Fox after four innings of work as the right-hander allowed one run on one hit while striking out seven and walking five.

“He’s thrown the ball really well for us this year,” Roach said. “He was a little inconsistent today getting behind in counts but he continued to compete.”

Relieving Fox was left-hander Brynson Garcia, who pitched a scoreless fifth, allowing just a walk, while picking up a strikeout.

After a stress-free first inning of work, Garcia worked into trouble in the sixth, allowing a run to score to make it 5-2.

Ultimately, Garcia got Poole to fly out to end the inning and keep it a 5-2 Jackson lead.

“He’s another guy that’s thrown the ball well for us,” Roach said. “He just goes out and pumps the zone with strikes.”

Kade Anderson gave Kennett a solid 3.1 inning before being lifted. During his innings of work, Anderson allowed just one hit while striking out three.

Jackson greeted Kennett reliever Matt Gardner with a stolen base and then a walk drawn by Lance Wilson to put two runners aboard with nobody out.

Adler Flinn drove in the sixth Jackson run on a fielders choice for the first out of the inning.

The RBI from Flinn was all Jackson scored in the inning as they entered the seventh with a 6-2 advantage.

Needing three outs, Jackson gave the ball to Ben Dambach for the seventh.

Dambach answered the call, slamming the door on Kennett and sending Jackson to the championship.

“He’s just coming back from injury,” Roach said. “He’s got good velocity and his slider is good.”

Leading Jackson’s offense was Cooper Rhodes who finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Kennett (9-14) moves to the third-place game where the Indians will battle Poplar Bluff at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 29, at Capaha Field.

With the win, Jackson (20-6) advances to Monday’s championship where the Indians will take on Dexter at 5:45 p.m. at Capaha Field.

“We need to pitch really well and play good defense,” Roach said. “We’ve got to be able to scratch some runs across, too.”