McClard sends Lions to tourney championship

MAGNET COVE — Another day, another dynamic pitching performance for Jessieville.

After Logan Perkins stifled Dierks in a 4-1 win on Thursday, fellow senior Dalton McClard followed suit against Magnet Cove on Friday.

McClard pitched six innings, scattering two runs on four hits with five walks and seven strikeouts as the Lions (4-4) rolled to a 7-2 win over the host Panthers (5-6) in the semifinals of the Magnet Cove spring break tournament.

“He just stayed in the zone today and was able to keep them off balance a little bit,” Jessieville coach Ryan O’Neal said. “He’s got some off-speed stuff that caught them out in front and he was really able to hit his spots. He made them chase a lot of stuff by getting ahead early.”

One day after a 10-hit performance against Dierks, Jessieville’s bats stayed hot in the top of the first inning. McClard, Oliver Nasilai and Chase Pedersen each had singles in the opening frame, Nasilai and Pedersen with one RBI each to give the Lions a quick 2-0 lead.

As McClard retired the first six Magnet Cove batters in order, Perkins tacked on another run for the Lions with an RBI single in the top of the second.

Jessieville had six hits through the first two innings, finishing with a season-high 15 in the game.

“It’s definitely a lot easier to have confidence in a game when you jump out right off the bat like we did today,” said O’Neal. “That’s something we’ve talked about, not letting off that throttle after the first, second, third inning and go ahead and put people away. A lot of teams have trouble finishing early in the season, and that’s just part of it.”

Brennan Koller singled for Magnet Cove’s first hit of the game in the bottom of the third, later scoring on a wild pitch as the Panthers pulled within 3-1.

Held without a hit in the third and fourth frames, the Lions got back on track in the top of the fifth. Pedersen drove in his second run of the game with a single, and Nasilai followed with a two-run single in the sixth as Jessieville pushed its lead to 6-2.

Known more for his skills on the gridiron as a Brigham Young University signee at linebacker, Nasilai finished with two hits and a team-high three RBIs in four at-bats.

“He’s a huge part of what we do, even just as an intimidator to the pitcher,” O’Neal said. “His size can rattle a pitcher and it helps the guys that come up behind him. Having a guy that just has that much raw power like he does is huge for us.”

Following an RBI single by Magnet Cove’s Justin McKim in the bottom of the fifth, McClard worked a scoreless sixth before turning it over to Aaron Ford to preserve the win.

After Bryan Morgan gave the Lions a 7-2 advantage with a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh, Ford struck out two while surrendering one walk and one hit in the bottom of the frame to squash any chance of a comeback.

McClard, Pedersen, Perkins and Noah Eskew each finished with two singles for Jessieville, while Adam Saveall had two singles, one double and one walk in five plate appearances. McKim suffered the loss for the Panthers with three runs allowed on seven hits, issuing one walk with five strikeouts. Ethan Zaunbracher pitched three innings in relief, allowing four runs on eight hits with no walks and one strikeout.

The Lions will face Glen Rose

(6-2) or Haskell Harmony Grove

(5-7) in the tournament’s championship at 3 p.m. today before resuming

3A/4A-8 conference play Monday at Centerpoint (5-4).

“We know we have a lot of rain coming in, but a good outing tomorrow could help us push through and work well next week,” said O’Neal. “If we do get rained out, then we’d have a good feeling going into the cage to work on a few things that we can improve on.”