BENTON — Saxony Lutheran (13-7) ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak and managed to extend it May 17 thanks to an error in the top of the sixth inning as the fifth-seeded Crusaders topped Kelly 4-2 in the first round of the Class 3, District 2 playoffs.
“If you’re going to go watch a game in high school, it was a really good game to watch,” said Saxony coach Paul Sander. “The fans got their $6 worth today. It was a well-played game. It was just a really well-played game on both sides. They had an error that cost them a run. We had an error that cost us a run — otherwise it was a clean game.”
With the Crusaders trailing 2-1 after five, James Hope led off the sixth with a ground ball and reached first on an error, advanced to second on Seth Stageberg’s ground out to third, took third on a wild pitch and then scored on Baylor Wilson’s single to right field to tie the score.
One out later, freshman Kai McDowell stepped to the plate with runners on second and third. He hit a ground ball and reached on an error that saw Jake Sparks and Tyler Lawrence score to make it 4-2.
“We had several timely hits,” Sander said. “We got down 2-1 in the fifth inning, came right back in the top of the sixth, and [Wilson] had a 2-out single to right field to tie the game, and then [McDowell] hit a hot chopper to the shortstop. He’s extremely fast and the shortstop [rushed the throw] a little bit because he was so fast. The first baseman bobbled it, and we scored two on that play.”
Relever Cole Roth took the mound in the bottom of the sixth and held Kelly to 1 hit while striking out 2 to earn the save, secure the victory and send the Crusaders to the second round.
Starter Zach Roth earned the victory for Saxony, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits in five innings of work, while striking out 10 and walking 2.
“Zach Roth … was dominant in his outing today,” Sander said. “Then Cole Roth came in and really did a nice job. I mean, that’s a pressure situation for a guy to come into on the road playing Kelly at Kelly. It’s a difficult place to play and kind of a rivalry game. They threw their best pitcher and we threw our best pitcher.”
Kelly senior Ross Peters took the loss for the Hawks, giving up 4 runs, 1 earned, on 8 hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out 6 and walking 3. Avery Wolsey worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, striking out 2.
Saxony opened the scoring in the third on Korby Engert’s RBI single, but that 1-0 lead was short-lived, as the Hawks (10-16) scored 2 runs on an error and an RBI-single from Tyson Carr.
Clean-up batter Brayden Moore finished 2-for-2 at the plate for the Crusaders, and Jake Sparks was 2-for- 3 with 1 run scored.
Wilson was 1-for-2 with 1 RBI, while McDowell, Engert, and Hope finished with 1 hit each. Collin Schaefer, Kaleb Yount, Brody Oesch, and Tyson Carr had 1 hit each for Kelly and Carr had 1 RBI.
“We had eight hits,” Sander said. “It’s okay. It’s nothing spectacular, but it’s a pretty good day.”
The Crusaders faced Kelly once in the regular season, suffering a 10-2 loss on April 16.
“They beat us at our place in the regular season,” Sander said. “That was a tight game until late in the game and then it got away from us a little bit where we ended up getting beat ... but it was tight most of the game, so. To two teams that were fairly equal and today, we beat them at their place, which is extremely satisfying.”
Saxony was scheduled to take on top-seeded Scott City (25-2) in the semifinal round Monday.
“They’re ranked No. 2 In the state for a reason,” Sander said. “They’re a very good team. We played them earlier in the year as well and they beat us 4-1, but that doesn’t mean anything now. I mean, the scores from regular season are out the window — they mean nothing. If we play hard like we did today, play hard and try to play clean, we’ll have a chance to win the game.
“Scott City is a very good team. We have a lot of respect for them, and we’re certainly looking forward to playing them.”
