Never-say-die Jackson advances

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The Jackson Senior Babe Ruth baseball team could not have endured a worse start.

But the finish to Sunday's winners bracket semifinal in the Senior Babe Ruth Midwest Plains Regional at Hillhouse Park left Jackson's players and coaches smiling from ear to ear.

Jackson rallied from 6-0 and 7-2 deficits to stun Nebraska state champion Grand Island 9-8 and advance to today's 4 p.m. winners bracket final in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.

"I couldn't be prouder," said Jackson coach Paul Sander after his squad improved to 32-5.

Nebraska rocked Jackson with four runs in the top of the first inning despite getting just one hit.

Jackson players celebrate their 9-8 win over Nebraska at the Midwest Plains Regional on Sunday.

The dismal frame saw Jackson commit an astounding three errors on one play -- two being wild throws -- and miss a sure out with a wrong decision on what base to throw to that resulted in a fielder's choice.

In addition, there were two hit batters and two wild pitches, one bringing in a run.

"Terrible," Sander said of the inning in which two runs were unearned. "But I guess looking back you feel a little bit fortunate to get out of it with only four.

"And these guys were determined not to quit."

Spencer Sander, the coach's son who went 4 for 4, said there never was any doubt about that.

"I was worried because we had a bad inning," Sander said. "But I kept telling my teammates that if we kept working we could come back.

"We just kept plugging away."

Jackson plugged away until it turned the game around with a monstrous bottom of the fifth against Nebraska reliever Kale Stobbe, who was beginning his first inning on the mound.

Trailing 7-2 entering the frame, Jackson exploded for seven runs on four hits, two errors, a walk and a hit batter.

Eleven batters came to the plate in an inning that started with Ryan Bass narrowly missing a home run before settling for a double off the left-field wall.

Sander had the key hit in the frame, a two-run single that tied the contest and completed his 4-for-4 performance. Sander's blow to right field came immediately after Isaac Obermiller replaced Stobbe on the mound.

"Garrett Fritsche told me to relax and just hit my pitch," Sander said. "The first pitch was one I liked. I just turned on it."

Chris Roth scored the go-ahead run on a ground ball by Fritsche that got past the third baseman for an error. Sander came in with a key insurance run on an RBI ground out by Bass.

The inning also featured a pinch-hit RBI single by B.I. Howard.

"It was a great inning," coach Sander said. "B.I. stepped up and got a big hit. And Spencer had a great day."

So did Alex Beussink, Jackson's third pitcher who shut the door on Nebraska and kept things from getting out of hand.

Beussink notched the win by working the final four innings and allowing just one hit. He gave up two runs, but both were unearned, including one in the seventh inning.

"I usually don't pitch that long, but I felt good," said Beussink, who struck out three and walked two. Both free passes came in his first inning of work.

Beussink was confident Jackson would rally if he limited the damage.

"I knew our team could hit," he said. "Keep your heads up and good things happen."

Paul Sander lauded Beussink's performance.

"He did a great job," Sander said. "He found a good rhythm about his second inning and we played defense behind him."

Fritsche started on the mound and lasted just one inning after suffering an ankle injury during a collision as he was covering the plate following a wild pitch.

Fritsche continued to pitch until he got out of the inning, but upon hitting a ground ball in the bottom of the first, he immediately went down in the box before limping to first and reaching on an error.

While Fritsche's day on the mound was done, he got the ankle taped and re-entered in the third inning. He initially went to first base but later moved to his normal shortstop position.

"Garrett just gutted it out. He's a winner," said Paul Sander, who indicated there is a possibility Fritsche could start today's game if his ankle isn't too sore.

Josh DeBrock added two of Jackson's 12 hits. Nebraska finished with only six hits.

Now Jackson will turn its attention to Minnesota state champion Minnetonka in today's winners bracket final. The victor advances to Tuesday's championship round.

Jackson, the only non-state champion in the regional field, is just two wins away from the title and a berth in the Senior Babe Ruth World Series set for Aug. 15 through 22 in Moses Lake, Wash.

"It feels great," Beussink said. "It's a big game [today]. We'll have to play our 'A' game."

Minnesota 1, Charleston 0

Defending regional champion and host squad Charleston lost in Sunday's other winners bracket semifinal.

The Fighting Squirrels (28-19) managed just four hits against Andrew Prochno, who struck out five and walked one.

Charleston's Zach Wilson, a Central High School graduate, gave up only three hits but suffered the defeat. He struck out five and walked three. The game's lone run came in the fourth inning.

Charleston, three-time defending Missouri state champion, must win twice today, twice Tuesday and once Wednesday to repeat as regional champion.