Shifting of mindset, experience has placed Jackson baseball in an historic moment

The Jackson High School baseball squad has 11 seniors on its roster this spring, most of whom have played together since they were seven years old.

That “chemistry,” according to senior third baseman Quinton Borders, and that “experience,” he added has made a difference in taking the Indian program to heights previously never reached.

Jackson (33-6) will face Francis Howell (30-10) on Friday at 4 p.m. in the MSHSAA Class 6 State Semifinal at US Ballpark in Ozark.

The trip to the Final Four is a first for the Jackson program.

“We are a heavy senior class,” Borders explained. “We’ve all been playing with each other since we were little. Just having that chemistry and pushing each other to get better every year has definitely set us apart.”

The Indians have been good for a long time.

Jackson has not had a losing season since Borders, and his classmates, Kaden Kendle, Landon Watkins, Grant Dotson, Jackson Wyatt, Henley Parker, Caden Bogenpohl, Baden Hackworth, Steven Schneider, Colton Hartle, and Dylan Hayman were in the third grade.

As a group, this senior class has won 76 games. However, it has never been able to get over the District hump during its three varsity seasons.

“In previous years,” Bogenpohl said, “we just couldn’t finish that final game. This year, that was a point that the coaches made. We were built for this moment.

“We can do this.”

Bogenpohl, as well as Indian pitching coach Jason Chavez, both emphasized that this group has a different mentality than previous Jackson teams, which could be the difference this weekend.

“Before,” Bogenpohl continued, “we got there, and we didn’t know if we could win or not. We were just going there to play. But this year, this group, we went into (Districts) 100 percent believing that we’re going to win it.”

Chavez said that Jackson head coach Josh Roach has stressed that the opposition on any given day is irrelevant. It is up to the Indians to meet their potential, and if they do that, then they “can beat anybody,” Chavez explained.

“One of our mottos is ‘Nameless and faceless,’” Chavez said. “Whether it is a good team or a bad team, it doesn’t matter. We need to play our game and do what we do best, and that is going to get us through.”

That mentality will be imperative on Friday.

The Indians are playing a Francis Howell team that beat Jackson 16-6 in the Troy Baseball Classic, however, in fairness to Jackson, that game was 10 weeks ago.

Jackson has not lost a game since April 22 (a 3-0 defeat to Lafayette Wildwood), and has since won 17 straight games.

“We have really prepared them to be the storm,” Chavez said of the Jackson team. “They have always felt like they were on the other end of things, trying to play not to lose, more or less. Now, we are playing to win.

“We have that feeling that (opposing teams) have to beat us.”