The Jackson Indians had a rough double header last weekend, but they more than made up for it this week with four straight wins to move to 14-5 on the season.
They not only got the monkey off their back, but they grabbed it by the tail and flung it into a volcano. Tuesday featured a 16-0 shellacking of Cape Central, Wednesday was an 11-3 whipping of Seckman, Thursday they took down Sikeston 9-4 and Friday they blasted Northwest 13-1.
The first game of the week was once again the John-Paul Sauer show. The Indian ace pitched another complete-game no-hitter and allowed just two walks against eight strikeouts. He has still yet to allow an earned run this season and has surrendered just two hits and two walks in 21.1 innings pitched.
Sauer had more than enough offense in this one, but you won’t hear him complaining about that. All he really needed was Baden Hackworth to step into one in the second inning, which is exactly what he got with a booming solo shot over the wall in left.
The Indians got three more in the third, thanks in large part to a 2-run blast by Cooper Rhodes, and then managed another run in the fourth before tacking on three more in the fifth. That made it 8-0, but the Tribe wasn’t satisfied with that “slim” of a lead, so they just went ahead and added eight more runs in the top of the seventh.
Rhodes had a monster game with four RB,I and five different Indians drove in at least two runs. They racked up 14 hits and seven walks to give their ace a cushion the size of Texas.
The next game against Seckman followed a similar story line, as Jackson jumped ahead once again in the second inning. Steven Schneider got things started with an RBI-triple and the Tribe took off from there. They plated four in the inning and then added three more in the third. Two in the fourth made it 9-1 and they just rolled after that.
Solo tallies in the fifth and sixth innings iced the cake, despite the Jaguars scratching out two runs, and the Indians had themselves an 11-3 victory. Caden Bogenpohl got the start and the win, cruising through four innings of one-run ball that featured five Ks. Three relievers cleaned up the final three frames.
Schneider had the big stick in this one with a 3-for-5 effort that included a pair of RBI and two runs scored. Grant Dotson was on fire as well with a 2-for-2 performance, a double, three RBI and three steals, while Landon Watkins was twos across the board. He went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, two RBI and a 2B.
Thursday’s game against the Sikeston Bulldogs was the closest game of the week, but the Indians still won it handily. It started off a bit rocky though, with the Bulldogs plating all four of their runs in the first inning. Jackson led off the game up 2-0, but Kaden Kendle ran into a bit of trouble, only recording one out and surrendering all four runs. Thankfully, the offense and the bullpen were right there to bail him out.
Jackson used a big fifth inning to put up five runs and take the lead. They would never look back, winning comfortably 9-4. Schneider had his second RBI triple in as many games and Bogenpohl and Hackworth had two hits apiece. Every Indian in the lineup had a hit in this one and six different players drove in runs. They also collectively stole nine bases.
Jaiden Glency was fantastic in relief of Kendle with five shutout innings for the win. He allowed three hits and three walks while striking out four.
Friday’s game against the Northwest Lions was Carson McDaniel‘s turn to shine on the mound. Already the owner of a perfect game this season, the Indians’ co-ace fired off six innings for a complete-game victory. He allowed just four hits and two walks while punching out eight.
The Lions got their only run of the game in the first inning, but Jackson took over after that. They plated four runs in the top of the third, helped by RBI-singles from Bogenpohl and Quinton Borders, to go up 4-1. They had the game in hand, but just to make sure, they cheekily added another nine runs in the top of the sixth just to be safe.
That would trigger the mercy rule and meant Northwest was out of options, falling 13-1. Borders had a huge game with three hits in four trips, two runs and two RBI. Hackworth and Watkins each drove in three and Bogenpohl plated a pair and picked up two steals.
The Indians are humming once again and will look to make it five straight wins on Sunday as they travel to Busch Stadium for the second straight year for a rematch with the Edwardsville Tigers in Baseball Heaven.
