Parker’s triple propels Jackson over Notre Dame

A 2-out RBI triple in the bottom of the 5th by Henley Parker was the difference in Jackson’s 3-2 win over Notre Dame on Saturday in the semifinals of the SEMO Conference Tournament.

With the game tied 2-2, Jackson’s Grant Dotson drew a 2-out walk and then stole both second and third base before Parker tripled him home.

“He’s been huge,” Indians coach Josh Roach said of Parker. “He’s starting to heat up now. Having that bat at the top of the lineup and him being able to drive the ball like that is just awesome.”

Dotson would be involved in a big play just a half inning later as he made a running grab, nearly colliding with the wall in center field to take extra bases away from Notre Dame’s Cole Lemons.

“That was fantastic,” Roach said. “That was what we call a GP, a great play. We talk about that a lot on defense. If we can play defense like that consistently we’re going to be very very difficult to beat. That was probably a game-changing catch.”

The game got off to a fast start with the second batter of the game, Notre Dame’s Will Dodson, driving a solo home run to left field to give his team an early 1-0 lead.

It took the Indians until the bottom of the 3rd to respond as Jack Wyatt started the inning with a leadoff single and was then sacrificed to second by Dodson.

Jackson would put pressure on the Notre Dame defense as a throwing error on Wyatt’s steal attempt allowed him to score to tie the game at 1.

Another error late in the inning allowed Parker to come around to score and give Jackson its first lead of the day at 2-1.

Logan Landewee would tie the game for the Bulldogs in the top of the 5th as he ripped an RBI single to center field.

Will Morgan got the start for Notre Dame and tossed 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and picking up 3 strikeouts.

“(Morgan) did a great job of keeping our guys off balance,” Roach said. “He had a very good breaking ball and his fastball was locating well.”

The Indians handed the ball to Carson McDaniel and he nearly went the distance as he completed 6 and a third innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and striking out 4.

“He’s been (excellent) all season,” Roach said. “He wasn’t feeling 100 percent today. Physically he was a little bit off he said but he got up there throwing strikes and competing.”

After a 1-out double by Jack Evans, Jackson turned to John Paul Sauer to slam the door and he delivered as he got a flyout and a strikeout to send the Indians to the championship.

Notre Dame (10-9) will play the loser of Cape Central and Kennett in the third-place game at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, May 1 at Capaha Park.

Jackson (21-6) will battle the winner of Cape Central and Kennett for the SEMO Conference Tournament Championship at 5:45 p.m. on Monday, May 1 at Capaha Park.

“We try to approach every game the same no matter who we are playing,” Roach said. “We have to play the game correctly. We have to play good defense, we have to throw strikes and we have to compete. If we do those things consistently you have a good chance of winning and that’s what we’re trying to do.”