After revamping its hitting approach in the offseason, Willard’s offense flashed signs of its potential in Tuesday’s windy home opener against district foe Lebanon.
The Tigers delivered 10 hits – including a pair of 2-run homers – on their way to a 10-0 victory against the Yellowjackets. It was a welcomed outburst for the Tigers, who often struggled to score runs last year and had tallied just 8 runs over three games to start the 2016 season.
“We’ve got a really deep lineup,” said Willard coach Scott McGee. “After last year, being so poor offensively, we’ve made a concerted effort to make some changes in our offensive approach. I think it’s really helped us. We took some really good swings today. I really like the way we attacked our at-bats."
GAME PHOTOS: LEBANON VS. WILLARD
A 2-run homer by sophomore Tanner Norris jump-started a six-run second inning for Willard. Down 0-2 in the count, Norris battled back and was ready when a favorable pitch came his way.
“I just had to protect the plate, then he left me a hanging curveball and I drove it to left center,” Norris said. “I honestly didn’t even think it was going to come close to going out, so I was sprinting all the way to second and then realized it was (gone). Windy days like this, especially at our field, if you just get it in the air then it should carry quite a ways."
Norris’ homer put Willard up 3-0. The Tigers added two more runs to chase Lebanon starter Luke Winfrey. Up 5-0, Brady Dawson greeted Lebanon reliever Christian Watson with a 2-run double.
“Hitting is so much based on momentum,” McGee said. “As we got going a little bit, it was just, ‘Next guy up: OK, you gotta do your job, then you gotta do your job.’ We did a lot of good things offensively in that second inning.”
It was a rough day all-around for the Yellowjackets, who tallied just three singles against Willard starter Dalton Morrow, committed two errors and were plagued by wild pitches and passed balls.
“Willard’s an experienced, well-coached team and they take advantage of any mistake you make or any wiggle room you give them,” said Lebanon coach Dustin Young. “On our part, I felt like our defense wasn’t as sharp as it had been. We left too many two-strike pitches elevated in the zone to where Willard could take advantage of that. And Willard just executed.”
The Yellowjackets (3-1 overall) put their first two runners on base to begin the game but failed to bring a run across. Lebanon, which beat Warsaw 11-1 at home Monday night, didn’t get a runner past first base over the next four innings.
Lebanon was also down one starter early in the game.
Senior infielder Cory Dudley suffered a dislocated finger after making the tag on a run-down play in the bottom of the first.
“The way that I understood it from him was that he slipped, fell, tried to catch himself and put too much weight on it,” Young said. “He had a dislocation of the finger.”
The game was delayed for about 15 minutes to wait for medical attention to arrive, with Young remaining by his player’s side.
“I wanted to be with him while we were waiting and then once medical attention arrived, that’s when we’d continue the game,” Young said.
Senior catcher Jordan Stevens’ had a 2-run homer in the bottom of the fourth that pushed Willard’s lead to 9-0. The Tigers added a run in the fifth to end the game on the mercy rule.
Morrow, an SBU commit, pitched all five innings for Willard. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out four.
“Dalton, last year he was a solid high school baseball player,” McGee said. “This year, he’s just taken off. He’s going to play at SBU, and they’re going to get a steal there. On the mound, at the plate, he’s a phenomenal baseball player.”
Willard (2-2 overall) travels to Jackson on Friday to face Sikeston (1:30 p.m.) and Jackson (4 p.m.) in a doubleheader. It’s a quick turnaround from there as the Tigers return to Springfield to face Glendale at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Lebanon returns to action Monday, March 28 when it opens Ozark Conference play at Rolla.
