The Jackson Indians closed out their regular season with a program-record 29 victories, and they will head into the District Tournament with 13 straight wins under their belt. Their ridiculous 29-6 record earned them the number one seed in the tournament and they are ranked number seven overall in the state by MHSBCA.
Jackson had four games in four days this week, and had little resistance winning them all. They doubled up the Kelly Hawks 6-3 on Monday, had a clutch 11-9 slugfest win over CBC on Tuesday, topped Perryville 8-4 on Wednesday and then finished up the week with a 15-0 blowout of Greenville. The Indians continue to break more school records along the way.
Congratulations to Baden Hackworth, who broke the school record for doubles (15) and RBI (48) in a season, Quinton Borders, who set the new single-season hits record with 43, and Grant Dotson who broke the single-season mark for stolen bases with 35.
The game against Kelly was the only home game of the week and Jackson gave their fans a treat early on, scoring in each of the first three innings for a 4-0 lead. An RBI triple from Borders and a run-scoring single from Hackworth did the damage in the third, and then the Indians tacked on two more in the fifth.
Kelly scratched out a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth, but they could never crawl out of the hole that Jackson so courteously dug for them. A big reason for that was Carson McDaniel, who pitched all seven innings for the complete game victory. He allowed just one earned run on five hits and a walk and struck out 10.
Offensively, Cooper Rhodes and Hackworth each had two hits and an RBI, while Borders, Steven Schneider and Dotson each drove in a run.
Next the Indians traveled to St. Louis to take on the CBC Cadets, which is never an easy task. CBC jumped out on top 1-0, but Jack Wyatt tied it up with a double in the second. Borders then gave the Indians the lead with a two-run double in the third, but the Cadets came right back with two of their own to knot the game at 3-3.
Then Jackson broke the game open in the fourth. They put up a five spot, highlighted by Schneider two-run bomb to left. The Indians added two more runs in the fifth, but CBC rallied for two in the fourth and three in the fifth to make it a one run game. The Indians needed an insurance run, and they got one in the form of a Henley Parker solo shot to left to go up 11-9 and ultimately hang on for the win.
Caden Bogenpohl got the start and the win, but uncharacteristically struggled a bit, allowing six runs (four earned) over four innings. Jaiden Glency shined in relief with 2.1 clean innings and picked up the save against a dangerous lineup.
Rhodes had a big day with three hits and a pair of RBI, Borders drove in two and Schneider and Parker had the two crucial home runs.
The next game against Perryville wouldn’t be nearly as challenging, and Jackson jumped out to an early 7-1 lead after just three innings. The biggest blow was a Hackworth three-run bomb in the Indians’ six-run third. The slugging catcher barreled up for his seventh homer of the season with a moon shot to center field.
The Indians would score again in the fourth on a Rhodes sac fly, but they had more than enough run support for Kaden Kendle, who got the win by pitching three innings of one-run ball. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out three.
Hackworth did most of the damage offensively with one swing, but Rhodes drove in a pair, Parker had an RBI and Borders picked up a pair of hits.
The final game of the regular season came against the Greenville Bears, and this one just wasn’t fair. The Indians needed just five innings to put up 15 runs before the umps called in a mercy ruling and shut everything down.
The Tribe scored five in the first, three in the second, one in the fourth and then six in the fifth to send the Bears packing. Bogenpohl had a huge day, going 3-for-3 and slugging a pair of home runs. He hit a two-run shot in the second and followed that up with a grand slam in the top of the fifth. With the sacs juiced, he deposited a ball over the right filed fence and gave the Indians a 14-0 lead.
They ended up scoring 15, but all John-Paul Sauer needed was one. The ace right-hander tossed four innings of shutout ball, allowed just two hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine.
Schneider had a big day as well, going 2-for-2 with two RBI and homering for the second time this week. Borders broke the single-season hits record in this one with his 3-for-4 effort and he also drove in a run.
It was a fitting way to end the regular season for the Indians, since so many of their wins have been dominant mercy rulings over the course of their 29-win campaign. They will look to get number 30 on Wednesday in the first round of the District Tournament against Poplar Bluff. Jackson owns the top seed so it should be a cakewalk.
