By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
With a box score featuring 29 hits and 21 runs, it might seem odd for a pitcher to be a key difference-maker in the Class 5 District 11 championship.
Mason Auer proved to be the exception.
The Kickapoo reliever gave up a single run over the final three and one-third innings Tuesday night, as the Chiefs downed Ozark 14-7.
Auer was the fourth pitcher used by Kickapoo head coach Jason Howser, following starter Michael Barnes, Mason Hatch and David Senn.
“The idea was to get the ball into Mason’s hands,” Howser said. “We just wanted it to be later in the game. Credit Mason Auer. He’s a great athlete and has a great mentality.”
The sophomore right-hander scattered four hits with zero walks and one strikeout.
After Kickapoo raced out to an early 8-2 lead, Ozark slowly chipped away over the next few innings. Cade Little and Carson Shaver each drove in a pair of runs for the Tigers during the comeback.
Auer entered the game in the fourth inning with two outs, bases loaded and Kickapoo clinging to an 8-6 lead.
A quick ground ball to third on Auer’s first batter got the Chiefs out of the inning with an unassisted force out.
“My mindset is just to throw strikes and let my defense work behind me,” Auer said. “My offspeed was working well, and I could come back with my fastball, and my defense was making plays, which is always helpful.”
While defensive playmakers are certainly helpful to a pitcher, red-hot bats certainly can’t be overlooked.
Even more so when said pitcher is doing most of the damage.
Auer 2-4 evening included a two-run triple in the second and a two-run home run in the sixth.
The late-inning blast helped cap a six-run inning for the Chiefs and gave Auer all the breathing room he would need to work a 1-2-3 seventh and close the door on the resilient Tigers.
Even after the early lead, Howser knew Ozark would not go away quietly.
“We knew that Ozark wasn’t going to quit,” Howser said. “Even when we established the early lead, we told our kids to play the pitch, not the scoreboard, because we knew they were going to come at us.”
Kolton Geifer and Andrew Kaufman each added a pair of RBIs for the Chiefs. Mason Hatch worked an inning and one-third for the win.
The district title was yet another step in a season of unfinished business for Kickapoo.
After a third-place finish at state in 2015, the Chiefs were upset by Nixa in last season’s district final.
The stunning loss served as motivation for Kickapoo’s senior leaders.
“We never had to say a word about it, honestly,” Howser said. “As coaches, we never forget, but for the kids … you wonder. The seniors knew it, and it was something they made a priority right from the beginning.”
Up next for Kickapoo (19-9) is a sectional matchup with District 12 champion Webb City on Tuesday, May 23, in Springfield.
Varsity Final: Kickapoo – 14, Ozark – 7
Ozark 2 0 1 3 0 1 0 — 7
Kickapoo 1 7 0 0 0 6 x — 14
Hits: Ozark – 15, Kickapoo – 14
Errors: Ozark – 4, Kickapoo – 3
LOB: Ozark – 14, Kickapoo – 9
Time of game: 3:13
