Dragons to take on Knights

EL DORADO Although Junction City won the 8-3A District Tournament last week, the Dragons are hoping to build off of some lessons they nearly learned the hard way.

Before the Dragons knocked off Smackover to win the championship, Junction City nearly didn’t make it to the title game, as they trailed McGehee 5-1 through 4 1/2 innings in a contest pitting a one seed against a four seed before rallying with four runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to top the Owls.

On Thursday afternoon, the Dragons (22-9) face Centerpoint (6-10) in a second pivotal game as a one seed taking on a four seed in the opening round of the 4-3A Regional Tournament.

Game time is set for 3 p.m. at Smackover.

For Junction City coach Joe Paul Hammett, the slow start against the Owls is something he hopes his team can avoid against the Knights.

"Hopefully, we learned a lesson against McGehee," Hammett said. "I told them that at this time of year, teams get better towards the end. Any time there’s a tournament with something on the line, they play a little better, and McGehee definitely did.

“We just weren’t ready to play, but we did come out on the winning end of it. Hopefully, that taught us a lesson. We’ve been in the same boat. We’ve been a four seed

that played a one and beat a one seed, so we’ll definitely mention it because everybody is trying to get that first game to get into the state tournament. No matter who you play, you’ve got to play well."

The Knights, who are the 7-3A’s No. 4 seed, may have a losing record, but Centerpoint has had plenty of hard luck this spring with six of their 10 losses coming by one run.

"It seems like we’ve had one inning that’s cost us the game,” said Centerpoint coach Kevin Owens.

“Our record could be much better than what it is. We’ve had a few errors here and there. We’ve had good pitching all year, but it seems like we’ve left a few too many guys on base as far as getting the key hit when we needed to win some of those close ballgames.

“Hopefully, we can get that done Thursday."

Owens’ son, Keenan, a standout both on the mound and at shortstop, could get the starting nod for the Knights on Thursday.

"He’s had a pretty good season," Owens said. "He’s a four-sport athlete. He plays golf, football, basketball and baseball.

"He wasn’t in pitching shape when baseball season first started, so we’ve brought him along as the season has gone on.

"He’s batting third in our lineup, and I think his earned-run average is around 2.33. He’s done a good job of keeping us in ballgames."

Owens’ athleticism on both the gridiron and baseball diamond made Hammett think of Smackover ace Beau Burson.

“Owens makes them go,” Hammett said. “He’s their pitcher, shortstop and one of their leading hitters. He’s a pretty good pitcher. He was the quarterback on the football team like Burson.

“He’s their top pitcher, and he keeps them in the ballgame, so we know we’re in for a tough battle from that standpoint."

The Knights also have solid pitching depth in sophomores Gavin Nutt and Daniel Forsythe.

"He’s done a real good job," Owens said of Nutt.

"He’s had a couple of complete games. We lost to Fouke the other day 2-1.

“He kept us in it, we just couldn’t get the hits when we needed to. He’s pitched real well for us.

"Daniel Forsythe is another sophomore that has pitched some innings for us, especially mid-week games and non-conference games. He’s done a good job for us.

“Hopefully, we’ll add some more freshmen to that mix next year and have something to build on. It’s a good nucleus to start with."

An injury forced a major change to the Knights’ lineup.

Logan Taylor, the team’s starting center fielder for the bulk of the season, had to move behind the plate when freshman catcher Gabe Doster broke a knuckle in the opening round of the district tournament.

A senior, Taylor caught the last two games of the district tournament.

"He caught some over the last couple of years, so it’s not anything new to him, but we like having his speed in the outfield to go chase down fly balls," Owens said.

"He’s played really well for us in the outfield, and he’s hit the ball well.

“He was our safety, and we thought he would probably have a shot to go play football somewhere. He’s just a real good athlete."

Due to the forecast of inclement weather, the semifinals and title game of the 8-3A District Tournament were played all in one day, and Hammett admitted it was a different look for his team.

"Playing it all in one day was little bit different for us," Hammett said.

"The first game, we didn’t play well early, but we did come back after being down 5-1 in the fifth against McGehee.

“That was a good sign. The second game, we knew our hands were full with Burson on the mound, but (Keelan) Hodge pitched well, we played good defense behind him and we got some big timely hits.

"That’s sort of been our thing all year. If we play like we’re capable of playing, we’re pretty good, but if we don’t, then anybody is capable of beating us."

If the Knights are to pull off an upset, Owens believes his team must be sound in the field.

"We need to get good pitching and keep them off-balance," Owens said.

"Hopefully, we can do that, get timely hits and play good defense. We need to make the routine plays, and sometimes that’s hurt us, but if we can do those things, hopefully we can win one of those close games.

"Historically, they’ve always had a good baseball team, so we know it’s going to be difficult with us coming in at the four seed and them at the one, but I try to tell our kids that it’s one game at a time and you just have to be the best that day.

“Hopefully, we can come down there and do a decent job in the field."

For the Dragons, it begins on the mound.

"It starts with our pitcher first. He’s got to throw strikes, and we’ve got to play defense behind him and make the routine plays," Hammett said.

"We’ve got to get some timely hits against their pitcher, and scratch a few runs early in the ballgame.

"We’ve just got to do what we do, and do it well that day."