By Brock Sisney (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
NEOSHO — With one down and a runner on first in a scoreless game in the bottom of the sixth, one play changed momentum and shaped the final outcome between the Strafford Indians and the Clever Blue Jays.
On a 2-2 pitch from Clever senior Jake Twigg, Strafford senior Kyle Schatzer hit one into shallow left and left fielder Zack Garcia just missed a sensational diving catch. Garcia quickly recovered the ball not far from him and made a throw to attempt to nab Schatzer at second, but unfortunately for the Jays the ball got away and went into right field far enough for Strafford to send Evan Helton home. Right fielder Lane Mendenhall chased it down and threw a strike to the plate to get Helton, but the Indians had Schatzer at third with one out.
Then, in his first at-bat of the game, junior Ben Peterson took advantage of a drawn-in Clever infield and scored Schatzer with a single through the middle.
Reliever Mason Denning retired Clever in order in the seventh to preserve a 1-0 victory and give the Indians the Class 3, District 11 title Friday at Roy B. Shaver Field.
“It was going to come down to who made the fewest mistakes,” Strafford head coach Shane Pierce said. “At that point, we bloop a single in, they try and throw him out at second, the ball got away, it allowed our kid to advance to third and we got the kid thrown out at home. Then, Ben Peterson comes up with a big hit and Ben had been on the bench all game. That was huge and I was happy for him to get that hit.”
“He’s just trying to make a play,” Clever head coach Justin Snider said. “That’s what you ask of your kids. Try and make a play. That’s just the way it goes sometimes. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn’t. No one will ever fault him for trying to make a play. Unfortunately, that’s the way it happened. It could very easily been the other way around. I told the kids (after the game) they could be having the speech we’re having right now.”
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Earlier in the game, both teams had defensive plays keep it scoreless.
In the third, Clever sophomore right fielder Hayden Camp made a diving catch to deny Rohlman a potential extra-base hit and 2-0 Strafford lead.
In the fourth, Strafford senior right fielder Hunter Allen threw out Camp at the plate.
“That’s a huge momentum changer,” Pierce said. “Hunter is a senior and he’s made that play a couple times this year. That throw was absolutely perfect and that was a big out for us at the end of the game. It was awesome.”
Strafford pitchers Helton and Denning and their Clever counterparts Corbin Allie and Twigg all took advantage of playing conditions favoring pitchers.
“To be honest, all four, his two guys and our two guys, did a good job of throwing strikes,” Pierce said. “That’s a big part of the game. If you can do that with the wind blowing in, it was a tough day to hit. We didn’t do a very good job of hitting the ball on the ground, but in the end, it worked out for us.”
“Our kids battled their tails off,” Snider said. “Corbin Allie, we could have started Jake Twigg today. We were debating it, the rain helped us a little bit getting him (Twigg) back with his pitch count. When I said something to Corbin yesterday, the look in his eye, man, he just wanted the ball.
“I told our guys in a game like that, it just comes down to one little thing. We had opportunities, they had opportunities, that’s just a really good baseball game for both sides. Both pitchers threw great, defenses were great, both teams applied pressure to the other. For me, I know a lot of people don’t like 1-0 baseball games, but to me that’s the best baseball you can play because you’ve got two teams competing their tails off and everybody’s doing everything right.”
Yes, it was one of those baseball games where it’s a shame that one team had to come up on the short end of the scoreboard.
Strafford improved to 15-11 overall this season and the Indians have District 12 champion and No. 3 ranked Skyline (20-3) up next in sectionals.
“Clever’s been through a lot this year,” Pierce said. “They have, and Coach Snider does a really good job. My thoughts are with those guys. I know it’s a difficult time for them. At the same time, it’s an exciting time for our kids. After not playing last year, you realize how special these are and you don’t know how many more you’re going to get. It was a fun day.”
Clever finished 15-8 on the season and the Jays’ group of seniors — Jake Twigg, Drew Hanafin, Dylan Thompson, Nolan Hall, Tanner Bradshaw, Zack Garcia, and Cole Langley — played their final high school games.
“We had one (Sean Gilmore) pass away at the beginning of the year,” Snider said. “Things weren’t going good at all. Sean’s dad said we’ve got to coach the kids and that’s what it came down to. We were 4-6 and I told them we’ve got to coach you again. We can be the emotional help you need after, but we have to start coaching you and our season turned around.
“They did everything that was asked of them, this senior class was so good. We’re going to end up having four of them sign to play somewhere. With everything that took place that first week of the season, it could have snowballed into something bad and that would have been a shame, because they’re so talented and they’ve worked so hard. I’m just so proud of those guys, for the way they competed and their positive attitudes.”
Gilmore would be proud of the Clever Blue Jays for the way they played this season.
