BENTON — Three double plays stalled Saxony Lutheran’s offense on May 19, as the fifth-seeded Crusaders (14-8) suffered a 9-2 loss to top-seeded Scott City (26-3) in the semifinal round of the Class 3, District 2 tournament at Kelly High School.
“Scott City is a really good team,” said Saxony Lutheran coach Paul Sander. “I’m very proud of the guys. At one point this year, we were 7-6 and really weren’t playing consistent baseball. We made a couple lineup changes and talked about things we needed to do and we ended up winning seven straight games before we lost to Scott City. We had a nice second half of the season and won 14, lost 8, and lost to a team that’s ranked number two in the state.”
Sander said his was challenged right from the start, but still managed good things early on.
“That game didn’t go well for us,” Sander said. “Early in the game, we were in it, and then, right in the middle of the game, we hit into three double plays, which was difficult for us to overcome. We had base runners and had some traffic on the bases, but we hit balls hard right at them and they turned three double plays and it kind of stalled our offense.”
Sander said that wasn’t the only obstacle for the Crusaders.
“The other bugaboo we had was we did have four errors in the game,” Sander said, “a couple of them at key points and we had 5 walks. So, you get 4 errors and 5 walks against a good team and you know you’ve got problems.”
In the first inning, Saxony’s No. 2 batter, Korby Engert followed a ground out with a single to left field, but Zach Roth hit into a 4-6-1 double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Saxony answered with a double play of its own, but only after Scott City’s Lane Holder, who drew a walk in the leadoff spot, was able to score on a passed ball.
In the second inning, Baylor Wilson doubled down the right field line allowing Brayden Moore to score and tie the game at 1-1. The Rams took the lead again in the bottom of the inning on another passed ball, then went up 3-1 after a Crusader error.
Scott City then added three runs each in the fourth and sixth innings to set the final margin.
Lane Miller earned the win for Scott City, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings while striking out 6 and walking 5.
Engert had the start on the mound took the loss for Saxony Lutheran after giving up 6 unearned runs on 3 hits, striking out 2 and walking 2 in 3 2/3 innings.
James Hope worked 2 1/3 innings in relief, 3 runs, 1 earned, on 4 hits, striking out 2 and walking 2.
At the plate for Scott City, Holder went 2-for-2 with 3 RBI. Kobe Watson was 2-for- 3 with 1 RBI and Tyson Proctor was 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored. Three other Rams had one hit each.
For Saxony Lutheran, Moore, Hope, Engert, Wilson, and Jake Sparks each had 1 hit. Sparks and Wilson, batting back-to-back in the lineup, had 1 RBI each.
The loss may have ended the Crusaders’ season, but Sander said the news wasn’t all bad.
“Nobody wants to lose their last game,” Sander said, “but the reality of it is, is that everybody in the state, except the state champions, lose their last game. So, it’s difficult. It’s hard to take. You know, guys don’t want the season to end. But I think when you sit back and look at it and say, you know, we were 7-6 at one point and finished 14-8. We really had a solid season overall, and I’m real proud of the guys.”
The good news, Sander said, was on the horizon.
“We’re pretty young,” Sander said. “We started two freshmen. I mean, that’s the first time in all my years of coaching in 20 years that we’ve started two freshmen in the same year. So those guys got a year of experience and played well. We also started a sophomore and three, sometimes four juniors. We bring back all of our pitching next year. We don’t have any senior pitchers. The future’s bright with a 14-8 team. We feel real good about what we’ve got coming back.”
At the top of that list of returning players are McDowell, a freshman, and Wilson, a junior.
“McDowell improved a ton as the year went on,” Sander said. “He went from hitting seventh to hitting first and he’s got tremendous speed and a lot of athletic ability and his future has very high, very, very high ceiling. Then [Wilson], our second baseman, improved a ton as the year went on. As the year started, he wasn’t even starting all the time. By the end of the year, he’d hit over .300, played a solid second base.”
Sander said there were also plenty of other bright spots, including freshman Zach Roth and junior Korby Engert, who both had good seasons on the mound.
“[Roth] finished 7-1 on the mound,” Sander said. “If you’ve got a freshman at 7-1 on the mound, your future is pretty good. And then [Engert] … we went into this year without a catcher. So Korby filled that role most of the time and he hit about .400. So Korby had a real solid year as a junior.”
In fact, Sander said, the Crusaders would be returning all but one of their pitchers. On the other side of the coin, the Crusaders will definitely miss Moore’s presence in center field and at the plate.
“Moore, you could just talk about him all day,” Sander said. “He had 33 RBI, 6 home runs, hit .400, plays a great center field. He was the cornerstone of our team this year.
“If you gave away a most valuable player, which I don’t, Brayden would be the most valuable player and he will be sorely missed next year on our club.”
“We had a good year,” Sander said. “I’m happy with it. You always want to win more games than you lose, but I think, looking back at it, with the youth and everything we had, inexperienced pitching until this year, now they’ll come back with more experience. We had a real solid year. I’m real proud of them.”
