By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
NIXA — By the time the Willard baseball team finally suffered its eighth loss of the 2022 season, the Tigers had already reached the state semifinals — guaranteeing yet another top-four finish.
So when the Tigers opened their 2023 schedule with eight losses in their first 19 games, they started to hear questions about whether this year’s group had the ability to extend that streak.
Showings like Tuesday afternoon’s should help convince some of the doubters.
Chris Massey dominated in his first start of the season, Cooper Hampton and Drew Quinlan each drove in a pair of runs and the Tigers rolled to a 6-2 victory over Nixa in a battle of state-ranked teams at Nixa Junior High School.
It was Willard’s first victory over the Eagles since 2017 and re-energized the school’s hopes at securing the Central Ozarks Conference championship at the end of the season.
The Class 5 No. 5 Tigers (13-8, 3-1) had briefly fallen out of title conversations following a 10-run loss to Republic last week, but dethroning the Class 6 No. 6 Eagles (14-3, 3-1) re-opens the race for the COC crown — and gives the Tigers a momentum boost as they approach the final third of their regular-season schedule.
“I think reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated,” Willard coach Scott McGee said. “We’re a way better team than maybe some people are giving us credit for right now. These guys have been to back-to-back Final Fours – and it’s a lot of the same guys. So, I don’t think maybe we’re getting quite the credit from some people that we deserve.”
Willard’s record is somewhat deceiving, as Massey — the team’s ace pitcher — injured his forearm during the preseason jamboree. The senior lefthander has been on a strict pitch-count restriction for the first month of the season, which limited him to bullpen work.
Meanwhile, the Tigers have found themselves in what McGee called “the toughest schedule we played, by far” — with 19 games in a 24-day span, several versus out-of-state opponents.
“When you’re playing seven games in a week and you don’t have your No. 1 pitcher, you’re going to take some losses to some great programs,” McGee said. “But we’ve had some really nice wins.”
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With Massey on the mound, the Tigers were able to secure another.
The 5-foot-9 senior hit 88 miles per hour with his fastball, a promising sign as the Central Missouri commit works his way back from the nagging injury that had limited him to just six innings all season. Massey allowed just three hits and one unearned run in 3.2 innings, striking out eight.
“Unbelievable,” Quinlan said. “I’ve seen him pitch so many times and that’s probably the best I’ve ever seen him pitch.”
But Massey’s dominant afternoon ended on a sour note, as he issued three straight two-out walks in the bottom of the fourth inning — prompting the Tigers to go to the bullpen.
“He had been on a 50-pitch count limit,” McGee said. “Tonight, he was between 80 and 90. At pitch No. 81, he felt the forearm tightness come back. So we got him out right away. We’ll give him seven days off at least and we’ll see how he comes back next week, but it’s just part of the rehab process.”
Importantly, McGee clarified that Massey did not reinjure himself.
“When you’re his size with that great of arm speeds, things happen,” McGee said. “We’re just trying to maintain him and keep him ready for the games that matter.”
In Massey’s absence, several other Tigers pitchers have gained varsity experience. That can only help the Tigers as they continue their push into the heart of their conference schedule — and beyond.
“That’s going to make them so much more prepared for district games and for the next year or two,” McGee said. “Guys like (sophomore) Collin Spering and (junior) Hayden Larson have kind of led our rotation, to go obviously with (senior) Cooper Wilken. But with Larson and Spering, now they’re battle-tested. They could start two conference games next week and we’d feel really good about them. I don’t know that coming into the year, you would have thought of them as pitching in this sort of an environment.”
When Massey exited, the Tigers held a 3-1 lead. Hampton had RBI singles in the second and third innings, while Quinlan added an RBI single in the third.
The Tigers then handed the ball to senior Klayton Kiser, who induced a groundout to escape the bases-loaded jam and allowed just four hits and one run in 3.1 innings.
“Having those two dudes on the mound with their stuff is going to be huge for us,” Hampton said. “I mean, I don’t know how many teams could beat Massey with his stuff going, but it’s pretty easy to play defense when he just strikes out everybody.”
Quinlan added an RBI single in the fifth, while Wilken added one of his own in a two-run sixth. The Tigers also scored a run on a balk.
Tanner Grant and Reese Dirnberger had RBI singles for the Eagles, while Nixa starter Jackson Gamble allowed four earned runs and six hits in 4.2 innings.
“We had a lot of two-strike hits, which has been a big deal,” Hampton said. “We struck out a bunch this year, but the two-strike hits were huge for us. And then pitching just dominated.”
Cameron Jennings and Landon Moore each scored a pair of runs for the Tigers, who will look to carry the momentum into Thursday’s COC matchup against Neosho.
“A lot of our seniors set goals early on in the year that we want to win this conference,” Quinlan said. “We haven’t in a while. I don’t know if we have. But it’s been a goal for us for a while now. We folded that Republic game, but I think we’re back up there. Now we just have to keep pushing.”
WILLARD (13-8, 3-1) 012 012 0 — 6 11 1
NIXA (14-3, 3-1) 001 010 0 — 2 7 3
