Kaleb Schmidt spent an offseason adding pop to his fastball, but as Ozark saw on Tuesday, he can still make the ball dance.
The Central Arkansas signee stymied the Tigers in Kickapoo’s home opener, striking out 10 over six innings while allowing just two hits, walking three and beaning one batter.
Backed by RBIs from Preston Keisker and Riley Herron, and a save appearance from reliever Adam Link, Schmidt and the Chiefs prevailed 2-1 in a rematch of a 2015 Class 5 district final thriller.
GAME PHOTOS: OZARK VS. KICKAPOO
Schmidt, who was Kickapoo’s No. 1 starter for most of last season while current Kansas State hurler Logan Wiley was injured, spent the offseason trying to add velocity to his arsenal.
“That was one thing I really wanted to do – get my fastball better – especially going to (college) next year,” Schmidt said. “But also to give us a chance to compete again this year. Playing in the state tournament (last year) and all those guys we faced were throwing 90-91, consistently mid-to-high 80s.”
Tigers coach Mike Essick said his lineup struggled to “square up” on Schmidt’s pitches and was hindered by discipline issues at the plate.
Tanner Wallace’s RBI groundout in the sixth inning accounted for Ozark’s lone run. The Tigers only had four base-runners reach beyond first base in the game.
“Every pitch (by Schmidt) moves,” Essick said. “If you stand up there when he’s warming up, every pitch moves. He’s so confident. And when you chase a pitch, then you’ve changed the complexion of your at-bat because instead of it being 1-0, now it’s 0-1. And now when you’re down in the count, he’s going to throw whatever he wants. When you start anticipating, he’s got you, and that’s what he did to us.”
Offense was at a premium in the game as Ozark’s No. 1 starter, senior and College of the Ozarks commit Tanner Wallace, scattered seven hits over 4 2/3 innings.
Three of those seven hits were doubles, but the Chiefs stranded seven base-runners in the game.
Kickapoo finally chased Wallace with two outs in the fifth after an RBI single by Herron and a walk issued to DH Tristan Stevens.
“It felt like five runs at the time,” Kickapoo coach Jason Howser said of Herron’s insurance RBI single that proved to be the game-winner for the Chiefs. “We didn’t support (Schmidt) real well offensively today. I’m not for sure, but I think we left a small reservation on base.”
Ozark cut Kickapoo’s lead to 2-1 in the sixth after Wallace’s RBI groundout plated Parker Hanks. With a runner on third and two outs, Schmidt got a fly-out to finish his day.
Kickapoo’s other run came in the third, when Keisker’s RBI double brought home Kyle Geifer.
Kickapoo improved to 4-2 with the victory. The Chiefs opened the season by competing in the “Best of the West Tournament” March 23-25 in Tennessee, going 3-2 against five Tennessee schools.
“A lot of guys got some opportunities down there and we faced some very good competition on great fields, which is why we went down there to do it,” Howser said. “But five games in three days is a lot of games, and then a six-hour trip staring at you on the other end, it kind of got to us. But we came out and had a good practice (Monday) and then came out ready tonight.”
Ozark, which had opened the season by posting 15-5 wins over both Parkview and Hillcrest, dropped to 2-2 with the loss. The Tigers were blanked 5-0 at home last Friday by defending state champion Lawrence Free State (Kan.), whose starting pitcher was lefthander and Oklahoma commit Trevor Munsch.
“Our offense the last couple of games – and we’ve faced good pitching – but we have to have better at-bats. And quality at-bats,” Essick said. “Cut down on the strikeouts. Put the ball in play, hard. You’re not always going to be able to control where it goes but you should be able to put a good swing on it and hit the ball hard. We’ve yet to do that against good pitching.”
The win gives Kickapoo an early leg up on Ozark for district seeding purposes. The Chiefs rallied to knock off Ozark in a district final meeting last year – down to their final out – and qualify for the state tournament, on their way to taking 3rd place in Class 5.
Kickapoo competes in the Red and Blue Classic March 31-April 2, hosting a pod that includes Sedalia Smith-Cotton, Hillsboro, Belton and Springdale (Ark.) Har-Ber.
Ozark travels to Rogers (Ark.) on Friday.
