By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Logan-Rogersville Wildcats spent Monday gearing up to face Springfield Catholic’s power pitcher, Ben Smith.
“All we focused on was hitting fastballs and trying to lay-off the sliders,” Logan-Rogersville third baseman Brady Buckman said of the practice session.
On Tuesday, that preparation paid off for Logan-Rogersville’s red-hot lineup.
The Wildcats reached double-digit runs for the seventh straight game, smashing Springfield Catholic 12-6 in a game that had major stakes for the Big 8 conference race and next month’s district seeding.
“Any time you have Ben Smith on the mound, you know you should get amped up at the plate,” said Logan-Rogersville coach Casey Ledl. “Our kids had a great plan against him, laying off some pitches and getting after the fastballs.
“All in all, we couldn’t ask for a better win against a great team.”
Logan-Rogersville tallied five hits and six runs across four innings against Smith, a Mizzou commit.
In a matchup of two teams ranked Top 3 in Class 4, the big blow came in the fourth inning when Brody McNiel belted a two-out, three-run homer to centerfield to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead.
“I was sitting fastball because he had thrown me like five or six fastballs in my previous at-bat,” McNiel said. “I just tried to get my bat head out in front and I managed to get lucky on it.”
McNiel got the starting nod for Logan-Rogersville and was stellar, striking out 13 in 6 1/3 innings.
The lefthander and Missouri State commit kept Catholic’s bats in check for most of the night.
McNiel gave up just three walks and three hits among his 13 strikeouts; he struck out the side in order in the first and fourth innings.
“I had my fastball going, but my curveball was definitely going well too,” McNiel said. “I couldn’t just pump fastballs by (Catholic). If I didn’t have my curveball going, I felt like it could’ve been a different game.”
McNiel threw a season-high 94 pitches before getting pulled with one out in the seventh and Logan-Rogersville (No. 1-ranked Class 4 MHSBCA poll) ahead by 10 runs.
“Brody was Brody,” Ledl said. “He was very efficient. He got a little tired toward the end, but he also threw the most pitches he’s thrown all season. We were still able to get him out of the game at a decent pitch count, so we were happy with that.”
The outcome gave McNiel some personal revenge. Last year, he started for Hartville in an 8-4 loss to Catholic in the Class 3 sectional round. McNiel’s family moved to the Logan-Rogersville district over the summer.
“I definitely had a chip on my shoulder,” McNiel said. “I came out ready to play and throw my best today. I’m thankful for it.”
It was another solid outing for the Logan-Rogersville pitching staff, which has had to adjust its strategy this spring. Ace pitcher Ross Lawrence has thrown limited innings due to a back injury.
Ledl noted that entering Tuesday’s game, the Wildcats had a team ERA around 2.00.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“Other kids have had to step in and that’s allowed for us to figure out what we really have pitching-staff wise,” Ledl said. “We know what we have past our big three.”
After stranding five runners through the first two innings, Logan-Rogersville finally broke through on Buckman’s two-out, two-run single in the third.
“I was down in the count 0-2, so I knew I needed to put something together,” Buckman said. “I was sitting fastball and adjusted to a slider, got my bat on it and made good contact.”
Buckman, who hits in the 8-hole, was one of several Wildcats to come through with productive at-bats on the day.
Senior Curry Sutherland, another Missouri State commit, added a three-run homer in the seventh that put the Wildcats ahead 12-2.
“I really felt like 1-through-9 our guys had great at-bats” Ledl said. “We had hits from about every spot in the lineup. If we can do that with the pitching we know we’re going to have, we can be pretty dangerous.”
Coleman Morrison had the highlight of the day for Catholic when he crushed a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to bring the Irish (No. 3-ranked MHSBCA) within six runs.
Logan-Rogersville (16-2 overall, 6-0 Big 8) is closing in on the Big 8 East crown with just four conference games remaining. The Wildcats also took a big step toward earning the top seed for next month’s Class 4 District 10 tournament. Catholic is in the same district.
Logan-Rogersville plays another strong district opponent, Mountain Grove (16-6 overall), at home on Wednesday.
“A win or a loss tonight, it’s still just a game in April,” Ledl said. “I’m sure we’ll have Round 2 here in a few weeks. (Catholic) will be coming for us.”
Catholic (9-4 overall) will look to rebound on Thursday at Marshfield, followed by Saturday games against Parkway Central and Duchesne in St. Louis.
