Dragons survive Knights
SMACKOVER - In the month of May, survive and advance is the mantra for coaches across Arkansas.
On Friday, Junction City did just that.
Keelan Hodge came within one out of a complete game, Brock McGoogan homered, and the Dragons survived a seventh-inning rally to outlast Centerpoint 6-3 in the opening round of the 4-3A Regional Tournament.
The Dragons (23-9), the 8-3A’s No. 1 seed, are headed to the state tournament, while the Knights (6-11), the 7-3A’s No. 4 seed, finish their season with another close loss.
Junction City will take on Genoa Central, the 7-3A’s No. 2 seed, in the semifinals today at 2:30 p.m.
Hodge, fresh off of a complete-game victory over Smackover in the finals of the 8-3A District Tournament last week, allowed six hits and three runs with two walks and nine strikeouts.
The freshman allowed a run in the first and worked out of jams in the third and fifth innings before departing in the seventh.
Keith Lynchard came off the bench and delivered a pinch-hit double to start the seventh.
However, Hodge retired the next two batters.
But just when it seemed Hodge would finish off the Knights, they rallied.
Keenan Owens, who turned in a solid performance on the mound, delivered an RBI single to left, capping a 4-for-4 day at the plate.
Hodge then got Gavin Nutt to hit a ground ball near second base that could’ve ended the game, but a throwing error on the play kept the Knights alive.
With runners now at first and second and Hodge’s pitch count at 108, Junction City coach Joe Paul Hammett elected to take the freshman out of the game in favor of reliever Joe Lowe, who fired 5 1/3 hitless innings against McGehee in the district tournament last week.
However, Lowe had trouble with his control, walking Coleman Davidson to load the bases before hitting Owen Bright with a pitch to force in a run and make it 6-3.
Hammett then made another pitching change, summoning Logan Disotell to try and finish off the Knights.
The right-hander did just that, getting a great defensive play from Hodge, who went to shortstop after being on the mound.
Lance Chambers hit Disotell’s first pitch to the left side of the infield that had the makings of being a hit that would’ve drawn the Knights even closer, but Hodge went far to his right to snare it and throw out Davidson at third to end the game.
“Keelan did a good job of throwing strikes for us,” Hammett said. “I thought about leaving him in for one more batter, but I really thought we would bring Joe in to close it out. Joe was too excited, I guess, but Logan came in and threw one pitch and Keelan made a good play at short to finish the game.”
The Dragons found themselves down a run early on after Owens scored on an errant pickoff throw in the first.
But the Dragons got back on even terms in the second.
With two outs, Jack Smith, who went 2-for-3, lined a single to center, and Charles Hoof drew a walk to put runners at first and second.
Tanner McLelland entered the game as a pinch runner for Smith, and the freshman would quickly make an impact.
Robbie Roberson laced Owens’ first pitch into right field for a single, and McLelland was able to score after catcher Logan Taylor couldn’t hang on to the throw.
The Dragons then took the lead with one swing of McGoogan’s bat in the third.
With two outs and nobody on, Owens seemed to be on his way to an easy inning, but the Dragons’ second baseman belted the right-hander’s 3-2 pitch over the fence in left for a home run to make it 2-1.
After allowing the run in the first, Hodge pitched out of a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the third by fanning Davidson.
In the fifth, Hodge allowed back-to-back singles to Owens and Nutt with two outs before retiring Davidson on a ground out to third.
Junction City took advantage of an error in the fifth and two more miscues in the sixth to extend their lead.
Roberson reached on an error after his grounder to shortstop was misplayed, took second on a sacrifice bunt by Lowe and scored on Hodge’s base hit to center to account for the Dragons’ scoring in the fifth.
Another error started the rally in the sixth.
McGoogan was safe on a two-base error after his grounder to third was mishandled, and Bryce Ware bunted for a base hit to put runners at the corners.
After Ware stole second, Clay Jolley drove in a run with a ground out to shortstop to extend the Dragons’ lead to 4-1.
Smith then delivered a single to right to score Ware to give Junction City a 5-1 lead.
A passed ball sent Smith to second and a base hit by Hoof put runners at first and third.
One out later, Lowe reached on an error after hitting a grounder to shortstop that allowed Smith to score to make it 6-1 before the Knights rallied in the seventh.
Owens took the loss, going the distance with a seven-hitter. He walked three and struck out eight.
“The Owens kid did a good job of keeping us off-balance,” Hammett said. “We did just enough to scratch a few runs. We got the lead and then we scored some big runs in the sixth inning that gave us a little cushion, and it turned out we needed it. Nothing is ever easy, especially at this time of year, but we played well enough to get the win. That’s what we were looking for is a chance to get to the state tournament. The guys did a good job of doing that.”
In addition to Owens, Nutt was on base four times for the Knights, who finish the season with six of their 11 losses coming by one run.
With their spot in the state tournament nailed down, Hammett is hoping his team will settle down and see what the rest of the regional holds.
“We were definitely uptight a little bit today. You could tell, especially at the bat, we swung at a lot of bad pitches out of the strike zone,” Hammett said. “Hopefully, we’ll relax and play more fluid. It definitely takes a little pressure off, but at the same time, we want to show up knowing we’re going to play somebody good.” Genoa Central 5, Fordyce 0
Mason Sellers hit a three-run homer and Tyler Moreland added a two-run blast to supply the offense, and Cason Brigham struck out 11 and walked one on his way to a five-hit shutout for the Dragons.
Sellers, who hit his home run in the third, finished 3-for-3, adding two doubles.
Moreland homered in the fourth for Genoa Central, finishing 2-for-3 with a double mixed in.
Dearius Sledge took the loss, allowing six hits and five runs over 4 2/3 innings. He walked seven, hit two batters and struck out three.
Ketric Sledge was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles for the Redbugs, who were the 8-3A’s No. 3 seed.