Top-seed Seckman nudges out Jackson, 3-2

~ The INDIANS scored the first two runs in their Class 5 District 1 semifinal but were overtaken

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- On paper the fifth-seeded Jackson baseball team was the underdog in its Class 5 District 1 semifinal game against top-seeded Seckman.

If you asked any of the Indians, though, that wasn't the case, so their 3-2 loss at the hands of the Jaguars on Monday at Wilson-Rozier Park was especially tough.

"We expected to win," Jackson junior second baseman Wyatt Eldridge said. "We didn't have our head down or nothing. We came out and expected to win. We knew that Seckman was the No. 1 seeded team, but we didn't care. We wanted to battle, and that's what we did. We just came up a little bit short."

Jackson capitalized early in a game where hits, and runs, were scarce.

Right fielder Ben Maudie singled to start off the second inning and center fielder Ryan Harvey reached when Seckman pitcher Michael Cook misfielded a ball hit back toward the mound.

Third baseman Cameron Duke and Eldridge each drove in a run with back-to-back singles to left field to make it 2-0.

"We knew that they were eventually going to score some runs," Eldridge said. "That was a given. We knew that two runs wasn't going to win the game, that we had to put more runs up, and we just fell short."

The Jaguars didn't get a hit until the fifth inning of the game, but starter Avery Whiteside walked two batters in each of the first two innings and hit a batter in the first to allow Seckman to threaten.

"He struggled early," Jackson coach Bryan Austin said about Whiteside. "He struggled. He didn't have his best stuff today. He was the best matchup versus Seckman because of their great hitters, because he can locate the fastball, the curveball, the change-up. He did settle in later on in the game, but he didn't have his best stuff."

Jackson's defense, which did not commit an error in the game, was able to keep the Jaguars from scoring until the fifth and did not allow a baserunner in the third or fourth innings.

"Avery's not going to be a strikeout guy," Austin said. "They're going to put the ball in play and it was very important for our defense to play well. They didn't just play well, they played great."

Whiteside struck out Seckman left fielder Andrew Kraus to start the bottom of the fifth before losing the next two batters on full-count pitches that were borderline.

"Sometimes you're going to get those calls, sometimes you don't," Austin said. "We just say, 'That's how baseball works.'"

Center fielder Colton Anderson then sent the Jaguars' first hit of the game into deep center for an RBI double that cut Jackson's lead to 2-1.

The third walk of the inning loaded the bases, and first baseman Michael Bibbs singled in two runs to put Seckman ahead 3-2.

Whiteside walked one more batter to reload the bases before Tyler Slinkard was brought in to relieve.

The Indians were able to get out of the bases-loaded, one-out jam when Seckman third baseman Nick Clark's squeeze bunt was popped up and caught by Slinkard, who threw to third for the final out of the inning.

Jackson didn't threaten again as the next six batters were retired in order to end the game and the Indians' season.

"[Cook] really settled in with his curveball," Austin said. "Early on he couldn't locate, so we were sitting on the fastball, but then he settled in really nicely."

Jackson finished its season with a record of 12-17.

"We've grown as a team throughout this year," Austin said. "We weren't very good early and then by the end of it, by the tournament, we were playing really good baseball, so it's exciting to look at the future for us."

Seckman will face the Poplar Bluff in the district championship tonight.

"It was a hard-fought battle," Eldridge said. "I felt like that could've been the championship game right there."

Jackson 020 000 0 -- 2 5 0

Seckman 000 030 x -- 3 3 3

WP -- Michael Cook. LP -- Avery Whiteside. 2B -- Colton Anderson (S). Multiple hits: Jackson -- Dante Vandeven 2-3.