By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Gainesville Bulldogs have been heavy hitters all season, blasting 30 home runs (through district play) as a team.
On Monday in the Class 2 state semifinals though, a combination of factors – wind, big field and Portageville’s ace lefty – led to a frustrating morning.
Gainesville, making its first final four appearance in program history, fell 6-0 to Portageville at US Ballpark in Ozark.
“We hit the ball hard, it just got caught up in the jet stream that’s all,” said Gainesville coach Blake Hobbs. “We’ve relied on the long ball all season long. Today, it bit us in the butt.
“Portageville hit the ball hard and on a line, but they hit it low. Then, shoot, they made some good plays.”
The red and black Bulldogs mustered just five hits, four of which were singles, against Portageville senior lefthander CJ Kelley.
“It was very frustrating,” said Gainesville senior Jake Leeker. “That’s we’ve done this season: Hit home runs. You play in a big park like this and that’s your (style), sometimes it doesn’t work out.”
Kelley threw a complete-game shutout on just 60 pitches (48 strikes), allowing five hits and no walks while striking out seven.
Gainesville (22-7 overall) threatened to take an early lead on Kelley, loading the bases with one out in the top of the first. He escaped the jam with a pop-up and strikeout.
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“I thought we were going to jump out on him early,” Hobbs said. “You talk about a kid that can lock in right away. He did that whenever it got tight.
“We hit the ball hard off him at times, but it never flustered him. He adjusted when he had to.”
Gainesville faces Plattsburg at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Class 2 3rd place game.
“There are two teams (in Class 2) that finish their season with a win,” Hobbs said. “We want to be one of those two teams.
“I’m very proud of the boys, still.”
Along with the baseball program making its inaugural final four appearance, this week is also Gainesville’s first final four run in any boys’ sport since the basketball team went that far in 1957.
“It’s been great,” Leeker said of playing in the final four. “I’ve always wanted to do this. It’s a dream come true. It’s a great feeling seeing all our fans in the stands and knowing the whole town has your back.”
Portageville (31-3 overall) plated three runs in the decisive third inning.
Portageville, which only had two home runs as a team entering the playoffs, finished with 11 hits against Gainesville. Five of the hits went for extra bases.
Shortstop Ronald Adams was 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.
First baseman Thomas Frakes added to Portageville’s early lead with a two-run double. Catcher Donney Benthal added a double and a triple.
The blue and white Bulldogs tacked on insurance runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
“That’s probably the best offense we’ve played all season,” Hobbs said. “We played some Class 4 schools that are good offensively. (Portageville) was a team that took advantage of every single mistake, every error. And they did not miss a pitch. Watching them bat with two strikes, they did everything right.”
Portageville’s third-inning rally ousted Gainesville starter Andrew Hambelton. Lekeer pitched the final 3 2/3 innings in relief.
Leeker also contributed two of Gainesville’s five hits on the day. He leads Gainesville with 10 home runs on the season.
“Portageville’s a really, really good team. We didn’t play very clean baseball in the field today, myself included,” Leeker said. “Our bats showed up, we just kind of hit balls hard at defenders. We couldn’t string together enough hits.”
Portageville faces Russellville at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Class 2 championship game.
