After a couple of tough losses to top ranked Francis Howell and fifth ranked CBC in the Troy tournament, Mother Nature stepped in and gave the Indians some time to collect themselves. Well, that worked out just fine.
Their game against Dexter and all the matchups in the Willard tournament were cancelled last week due to rain, but the Indians wasted no time this week getting back into the win column. They smoked North County on Monday 17-9 and then pulled off the revenge win against CBC on Tuesday, wiping out the Cadets 10-1.
In the game against North County, Catcher Baden Hackworth made a statement with his bat, blasting a pair of homers and driving in six on the day. He got the Indians started in the first with an RBI double and the club was clinging to a 3-2 lead heading into the fourth inning.
Then the offense erupted. Jackson loaded the bases and then patiently took their pitches to push two runners across the plate via walks before Quinton Borders singled home two more to put up a four-spot in the top half of the inning. The Raiders answered back with four of their own in the fifth, but the Indians still had their lead.
Then the Tribe got the lumber out. Caden Bogenpohl, Hackworth and Borders went back to back to back to provide four of five sixth-inning runs. Then in the seventh, Hackworth wasn’t done as he smoked a two-run shot to center for his second homer of the day. North County tried to catch up in the final inning but their comeback fell way short. When the dust settled the Indians had a 17-9 victory.
The trio of Hackworth, Bogenpohl and Borders were the heavy hitters in this one. Hackworth led the way with a 3-for-4 effort that included two homers and six RBI, while Borders was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a homer, three RBI and four runs scored. Bogenpohl’s only hit left the yard and he also walked twice, stole a base and scored three runs.
Kaden Kendle got the start and earned the win despite allowing four runs on two hits and five walks. He did strike out six though.
That set the stage for the rematch with CBC, and boy did Jackson get their revenge. This one was the Bogenpohl show, as he not only got the start but delivered the biggest blow of the game.
The Cadets started off with a run in the first inning, but that was all that Jackson would afford them for the rest of the day. Held scoreless the first two innings, the Indian bats woke up in the third. With two on and nobody out, Bogenpohl got the green light on 3 and 0 and smashed a three-run bomb to right.
That made it 3-1, but Jackson wasn’t finished. In the next inning Borders came through with an RBI single, followed by an RBI ground out from Hackworth, and then Landon Watkins cleared the bases with a line-drive single to left.
Jackson scored three more in the sixth, highlighted by a Hackworth RBI double, and blanked the Cadets the rest of the way for a convincing (and satisfying) 10-1 victory.
Bogenpohl stole the show with six strong innings of one-run ball. He allowed just two hits and three walks while striking out seven. At the plate he had the game wining RBI on the three-run homer and also walked, scored twice and stole two bases.
Jack Wyatt and Cooper Rhodes each had two hits in the game and the Indians had 10 as a team, spreading the offense out evenly across the lineup. Eight of the nine batters recorded at least one hit.
The back to back wins bumped Jackson’s record to 5-2 and now they get to show off their 12 Seniors in tonight’s game. The Ste. Genevieve Dragons will come to town for Senior Night as the Tribe will look to make it three in a row.
