Kameron Misner leads Poplar Bluff baseball team past Jackson

It took an inning for Kameron Misner to settle in, but he got the job done.

The senior left-handed ace allowed three hits in six stellar innings of work, leading the Poplar Bluff baseball team to a 10-3 SEMO Conference win over Jackson on Thursday at Whitey Herzog Stadium.

Jackson first baseman Ryan Mize dives in vain in an attempt to field a hit by Poplar Bluff's Matthew Lambert during the fourth inning Thursday in Jackson. The Mules won 10-3.Glenn Landberg

Misner, a Missouri signee, gave up two hits in the bottom of the first but bounced back by allowing only one hit through the final five innings. He struck out nine hitters and walked six, giving up three runs (two earned).

"Kameron and I adjusted on pitch calls and what we were going to do and talked in between innings, and he started doing a couple different things," Mules coach Steven Edwards said. "It got them a little off-balanced I thought, and I thought our catcher did a great job of blocking up when we threw a curveball in the dirt on purpose and things like that.

"It's a team effort. Everybody did their job today. It was all-in, and we came through with a big win."

Poplar Bluff (18-3, 6-0 SEMO Conference) held a one-run lead before tacking on three more in the top of the fourth.

Tyson Cox reached on a one-out error in the fourth, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third when Misner flied out to left for the second out of the inning.

Poplar Bluff's Michael Anagnostopoulos slides into score at home plate past Jackson's Colten Weber in the first inning Thursday, April 21, 2016 at Whitey Herzog Stadium in Jackson.Glenn Landberg

Edwards called his second double steal of the game, and the Mules executed it to perfection. Cox was safe at home, and Jared Moses, who reached on a walk, moved to second. Mason Libla reached on the Indians' second error of the inning, a mishandled ball at first base that allowed Moses to speed around third and head home and extend Poplar Bluff's lead to 6-3.

"It's part of the baseball game," Edwards said about the double-steal attempt with two outs. "You've got to fight for every run, and when you're playing teams like Jackson, you've got to scrap and fight and do whatever you can to get a run. And I believe in our boys. If I didn't, I wouldn't put the call on, and it worked out a couple times."

Matthew Lambert, who finished with a game-high three RBIs, kept the rally going for the Mules by scoring Libla on a single to right. Junior Colten Weber, who started on the mound, got a strikeout to get Jackson (12-10, 3-4) out of the inning with a 7-3 deficit.

"We've got to be a little tighter early, especially against a good club," Jackson coach Bryan Austin said. "We know that they're coached well at Poplar Bluff, and early on, we had a couple miscues. ... We've just got to tighten some stuff up on defense early."

Weber went five innings, allowed only three hits and gave up nine runs (three earned). He had eight strikeouts but walked seven batters, five of which resulted in runs.

"I thought he competed really well around the zone. He had really good stuff for us, that's for sure," Austin said. "Early on, I thought he did a very good job. When they're not getting hits and they're not barrelling the baseball, it shows you how effective he was early on."

Weber, who's committed to Dallas Baptist, faced his biggest challenge in the top of the first. Moses struck out but reached on a passed ball. Three straight walks sent Moses across home plate before a wild pitch and a passed ball scored Michael Anagnostopoulos and Libla, respectively. After Dalton Cooper reached on a walk, Edwards called his first double steal with two outs. Jackson appeared to have sniffed out the play at the plate, but Lambert got around the catcher and touched home plate to give Poplar Bluff a 4-0 lead.

"You've just got to be tighter than that defensively, especially when they don't have any hits early on and you're giving them runs. I thought we pitched it fairly well," Austin said.

The Indians answered back with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Justice Crosnoe led off with a walk, Jarrett Newell reached on an error and a single by Ryan Mize loaded the bases. Braeden Dobbs delivered a one-out single to right before the Indians pulled off a double steal of their own, sending Mize home and cutting Poplar Bluff's lead to 4-3.

Jackson's Colten Weber pitches to a Poplar Bluff batter in the fourth inning Thursday, April 21, 2016 at Whitey Herzog Stadium in Jackson.Glenn Landberg

With the exception of a one-out double by Weber in the bottom of the fifth, the Indians were held without a hit for the rest of the game.

"Early on, I felt really good about it. We were having great at-bats," Austin said. "We barrelled the baseball really well, and we got traffic on the bases. ... [Misner] settled in very nicely."

Misner helped himself with an RBI double in the top of the sixth before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Lambert to extend the Mules' lead to 9-3. An RBI single by Cox gave Poplar Bluff a 10-3 advantage in the top of the seventh.

The Mules have all but wrapped up the regular-season conference crown. They'll close out conference play Tuesday against host New Madrid County Central.

"We want to win every game, and we want to get better every game. That's the idea, so I was proud of the boys," Edwards said. "I thought the first inning defensively we made a couple boo-boo plays, but we cleaned it up after that. ... Late in the game, we were able to put the stick on the ball a little more and came out with a win."

Poplar Bluff defeated Jackson twice during the regular season a year ago but dropped a 2-1 decision against the Indians in the championship game of the Class 5 District 1 tournament.

"That was the end of our season, a little sour note there," Edwards said about last year's postseason loss. "To be honest, I'm not even thinking about the district tournament, conference tournament.

"We've got Twin Rivers tomorrow, and that's the next team we're focused on."

Poplar Bluff 400 302 1 -- 10 5 1

Jackson 300 000 0 -- 3 3 3

WP -- Kameron Misner. LP -- Colten Weber. 2B -- Misner (PB), Weber (J).