Put it in the books. The Jackson Indians are the 2023 SEMO Conference Tournament Champions, and their road to victory displayed very few, if any, speed bumps. The top-seeded Indians worked over the Sikeston Bulldogs in the first round 15-0, edged out Cape Notre Dame 3-2 in the Semis and then shut out the Kennett Indians 3-0 in the Final to bring home the hardware.
The game against Sikeston was a breeze for the Tribe and lasted just four innings. They got one run in the first before unloading in the second for seven more, and left little to the imagination in this one. Three in the third, poetically followed by fourth in the fourth, triggered the mercy rule and Jackson had themselves a 15-0 victory and a trip to the Semifinals.
Caden Bogenpohl provided the offensive spark with a pair of doubles and four RBI to set the tone, and Cooper Rhodes went 2-for-2 with three runs batted in and a pair of runs scored. He also added a pair of steals. Speaking of stolen bases, Henley Parker had three to lead the club, and also went 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored.
On the pitching side of things, Jaiden Glency took care of things all by himself with four innings of one-hit, shutout ball. He didn’t end up striking out a batter, but his pitch to contact method worked perfectly and he earned the victory just the same.
The next game was much closer, and the Indians had to bear down in this one. The Bulldogs struck first in the top of the opening frame with a run, but Jackson eventually found their offense in the third. They picked up a run on an error by wreaking havoc on the base paths and then Bogenpohl came through with a single to right that scored a run with a little assistance from another Notre Dame miscue.
That gave the Indians a 2-1 lead, but the Bulldogs would respond in the fifth with a run of their own to tie the game at 2-2. Feeling the pressure with a trip to the Finals on the line, Parker decided enough was enough. With a runner on second and a full count, he scorched a ball to center that got down and he turned on the jets. It went for an RBI triple and gave Jackson a 3-2 lead.
The pitching staff would handle things from there as Carson McDaniel threw incredibly well in this one. He went 6.1 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits and had a stellar 4/0 K/BB ratio. That earned him the victory, but he needed a little help at the very end. Ace John-Paul Sauer came in to record the final two outs in a rare relief appearance and picked up the save.
That win pitted the Indians against another tribe of Indians from Kennett in the Finals, and Sauer came into play once again. He got the start in this one and did more than was asked of him, tossing a complete game shutout where he allowed just two baserunners (one hit and one walk) and struck out nine.
The game was a pitcher’s duel until the sixth when Jackson finally broke a scoreless tie. With two on and one out, Steven Schneider barreled up and ripped a triple to center to clear the bases and give the Tribe a 2-0 lead. Jack Wyatt provided the insurance with a two-out RBI double two batters later and gave the Indians a 3-0 lead.
With the way Sauer was throwing that was more than enough, and Jackson held on to win by that very score. The win made them 22-6 on the season and gave them six straight victories. Oh, and it also made them the SEMO Tournament Champions. Ho hum. Just another trophy for the case that is busting at the seams.
The Indians aren’t done though. There is still a lot of baseball to be played and they have a busy week ahead of them with three more matchups in the next five days.
