FROM DEREK SHORE
The telling point of a good offense is the production a team gets from its 7-8-9 hitters.
Webb City's bottom of the order that consists of Aidan Brock, Jeremiah Leaming and Eric Fitch went a combined 4 for 6 with an RBI, two walks, four runs scored and a trio of key sacrifice bunts.
Those three also set the table for the Cardinals' top and middle of the order bats that did damage.
Devrin Weathers, Treghan Parker, Shane Noel and Matt Woodmansee combined to go 8 for 17 with three extra-base hits and eight runs driven in as Webb City toppled Carl Junction 11-5 in a Central Ozark Conference showdown on Tuesday afternoon at the Bulldogs' field.
"I thought we did some damage at the lower part of the lineup," Cardinals coach Flave Darnell said. "We have been talking about moving the ball and sac bunting. I think (Jeremiah) Leaming had a couple of sacs today. Brock had a sac and a couple of walks. Eric Fitch has been solid at the 9-hole. Those guys have been turning the lineup over, allowing our guys up top to do damage."Class 5 No. 2 Webb City (15-5, 4-2 COC) moved into sole possession of fourth place in the COC standings with the win and a Willard extra-inning loss to Republic. The Cardinals are a halfgame behind thirdplace Nixa.
"We are back in the race a little bit," Darnell said. "As the cliche goes,we'll take it one game at a time. It was a big win. Carl Junction is a great team. They had a great win against Willard. It was a big district win."
The Bulldogs (12-6, 3-2 COC) fall to fifth in league play.
"Credit to Webb City," Carl Junction coach Jake Stevenson said. "They are a good team. They are athletic. They run the bases well. They put pressure on the defense. We weren't able to stop the bleeding when we needed to and they did. Credit to Cole Gayman. He's an outstanding arm. He did a nice job."
The Cardinals led from the beginning to end. Woodmansee gave Webb City a 1-0 lead after the opening frame, smashing an RBI double to left field to score Parker.
The Cardinals tacked on three more tallies in the second. After Eli Goddard reached on a dropped third strike, Brock moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt and Leaming brought Goddard home with a single.
Fitch recorded a one-out single, and Weathers followed with an RBI triple to the right-center field warning track.
The Kansas State football signee then came home on a wild pitch.
"He makes a lot of people nervous (with his speed)," Darnell said. "When he gets up and he's on our team, he makes me nervous."
Dylan Eck got the Bulldogs on the board with an RBI bunt single, making the score 4-1 after four innings. But Webb City erupted for five runs on five hits in the sixth to take a 9-1 lead.
The Bulldogs scored four runs in their half of the sixth to trim the margin to 9-5. Brendyn Downs started the rally with an RBI single, while Keaton Johnston added a two-run single, and Downs came across on a wild pitch.
"This group is always going to compete, stay in the game and battle," Stevenson said. "It would have been really easy down 9-1 to give in. I thought our guys did a good job trying to put a big inning together. It was just a little too late there."
Noel and Woodmansee made up for the rest of the Cardinals' run production with RBI singles in the seventh.
Gayman got the win for Webb City, allowing four unearned runs on three hits in 5 1/ 3 innings while striking out five.
The Cardinals finished with 13 hits, led by Weathers and Fitch with three each.
"We battled when we needed to get guys on and put pressure on them," Darnell said. "We can do that a little bit. We played good enough defense. I thought Cole pitched really well."
Drew Beyer suffered the loss for the Bulldogs. Carl Junction finished with six hits, led by Noah Southern with a 2-for-4 performance.
Games at 4:30 p.m. Thursday have Webb City at Nixa and Carl Junction at Ozark.
Joplin Globe 04/28/2021 (Used by permission)