By Whitney Keith
It’s all for Number One.
There were many smiles, and, yes, even some tears, as this phrase was repeated over and over again as Mansfield clinched the Class 2 District 10 Championship tonight over the Norwood Pirates.
No. 1 is, of course, Coach Doug Jones, who is never far from the minds, hearts, and lips of this team, and this town, as he passed away earlier this year.
Coach Jones was the winningest high school baseball coach in Missouri history with a career that was almost exclusively spent with the Mansfield Lions.
The Lions won tonight’s contest in a handy fashion, trouncing the rival Pirates by a 15-5 count in five innings of play.
However, it didn’t start out that way.
“They came out and smacked it around a little,” said Mansfield coach Gary Greene. “But typical of our kids, they always respond.”
Norwood led 4-0 after their first round of at bats, but they would only add one run to that total, which didn’t happen until the last inning of the contest.
“Mansfield answered with two runs in the bottom of the first, which was the momentum swing,” said Norwood coach Drew Miller. “They put up a crooked number in the rest of the innings and we couldn’t find a way to bounce back.”
“We’ve been waiting on this team to show up offensively all year, and they sure picked a good time to do it,” Greene said with a smile.
The Lions were led by power hitter Spencer Greene, who hit a two-run shot out of the park in the second inning, then followed it up with a solo shot in the third inning.
“He’s really been swinging it well the last couple of weeks,” Greene said. “He seems to have found his groove.”
In the fourth inning, Jacob Gray drew a walk, as did Jonah Williamson. A Norwood error scored Gray and Williamson, and landed Greene on first. A single by Devin Kingery scored Greene, then another by Crayton Henry scored Kingery.
A final run in the fifth inning would clinch the victory for the Lions.
The Pirates are already looking forward to next season.
“I think we’ll have a solid group to build off of next year,” said Miller. “I think pitching will be a strong suit for us.”
The Pirates ended their season with a 13-10 record.
The Lions will face the rival Hartville Eagles on Monday at 4 p.m. Hartville will host the contest.
“It’s Hartville versus Mansfield. They’re going to show up ready to play, and so will we,” Greene said.
Mansfield currently sits at 16-2, with their only losses coming from Class 3 power Mountain Grove and Class 4 school Marshfield.
Norwood Pirates:
Hesston Gray (single, double), Lukas Brown (single), Hunter Gray (single, single), AJ Barnes (single, double), Tim Thornton (double)
Mansfield Lions:
Mason Roy (3 singles), Jonah Williamson (2 singles), Spencer Greene (two homeruns, single), Devin Kingery (single), Crayton Henry (3 singles), Jacob Gray (single)
