Central baseball team rallies past Sikeston in wild district quarterfinal

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- With his team on the brink of elimination, Josh Morse was never overtaken by the moment.

The senior came to the plate to lead off the top of the sixth inning and belted a solo shot over the left-field fence to spark a five-run inning for Central in the first game of the Class 5 District 1 baseball tournament against Sikeston on Monday at Wilson Rozier Park.

But after the Bulldogs put together a four-run rally to send the game into extra innings, the Tigers regained the lead in top of the eighth, and Morse held fourth-seeded Sikeston in check to earn the save and secure a 9-8 victory for fifth-seeded Central.

"Josh's best skill is his ability to compete," Central coach Tatum Kitchen said. "He's very level-headed, but he's an ultra-competitor. You give him the ball, and you know what you're going to get. ... He's always ready. There is no situation that we think is too big for him."

The Tigers will take on top-seeded Poplar Bluff at 4 p.m. today for a chance to play in the district championship.

"We're at the point where we could care less as to who shows up. If the Cardinals show up, we'll play them," Kitchen said. "We know Bluff's very good, and we're going to have to do all we can to play with them."

Central's Kaleb Ward steals second base as Sikeston shortstop Sam Cox takes the throw during the eighth inning of a Class 5 District 1 quarterfinal Monday, May 18, 2015 in Farmington, Missouri. Ward later scored the go-ahead run to break a tied game that Central won 9-8. (Fred Lynch)

Central (14-11) fell behind in the bottom of the third when Sikeston's leadoff hitter, Audie Hay, singled to right field. A double by Blake Wolferding, who was replaced by courtesy runner Chase Gaines, scored Hay, and an error at first base allowed Luke Williams to reach while Gaines moved to third. The next batter, Colton Hampton, was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Trey Smith plated Gaines on a single to shallow left field. A sacrifice fly by Wyatt Pratt pushed the Bulldogs' lead to 3-0 before the Tigers secured the final out of the inning.

Central answered in the top of the fourth when Ryan Tegel reached after getting hit by a pitch and Morse reached on a walk. Both runners advanced on a double steal, and Chase Hagerty sent a double down the left-field line to score both runs and cut his team's deficit to 3-2 heading into the bottom of the frame.

Hagerty, who started on the mound for the Tigers, finished 2 for 4 to help his cause at the plate.

"For a pitcher to give himself a little help offensively always helps," Kitchen said about Hagerty, who's a Southeast Missouri State signee. "It makes your job a little easier on the mound."

A pair of errors allowed Sikeston (14-11) to add an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth, pushing its lead to 4-2. The Tigers finished with five errors on the game.

"Early we weren't playing good defense. We weren't hitting the ball, and then it's just like something clicked," Morse said. "... The defense started working, and we just ended up grinding out the victory. It was huge for us."

A 1-2 pitch to Morse got things started for Central in the top of the sixth as Morse cut the Bulldogs' lead to 4-3 with one swing.

"He'd been kind of going the same patterns the whole game," Morse said. "I fell behind two strikes and knew he was coming with the curveball, so I just timed up for it and got a good swing on it."

Kitchen said the home run set the stage for the remainder of the game.

"I think it kind of loosened us up, kind of got us mentally like, 'OK, alright, let's go,'" he said. "From that point on, I thought we played really, really well."

Central pitcher Chase Hagerty throws a bunted ball to first base that retired the Sikeston batter but scored a run from third base during third inning of a Class 5 District 1 quarterfinal Monday, May 18, 2015 in Farmington, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Hayden Linn followed with a single to right field and was replaced by pinch-runner Joe Baker, and a single by Hagerty moved Baker to third. Jacquen Cummins tied the game with a sacrifice bunt, and a throwing error by Sikeston starting pitcher Jacob Clark allowed J.D. Harding to reach second base and Hagerty to score. Clayton Reynolds scored Harding on an RBI single to center field before Clark was replaced by Trent Sidwell, who gave up an RBI single to Brock Baugher before recording the final out.

The Tigers recorded five of their seven hits in the inning and led 7-4 heading into the seventh.

"We didn't give up, and it's just a real testament because last year at this time, we got right here and lost," Kitchen said. "Today we get to move on, so I just think we're a little mentally tougher than a lot of people because we are not a showcase team. We're just a bunch of grinders and just a bunch of guys that are going to go hard and give everything they've got to try and try to do the best that we can."

Morse led off the top of the seventh with a double that bounced off the left-field fence and was replaced by courtesy runner Justin Vaught, who moved to third on a fielder's choice. A wild pitch sent Vaught home for what proved to be a crucial run, pushing the Tigers' lead to 8-4.

Wolferding singled to center field to begin the bottom of the inning for Sikeston and was replaced by Gaines before Williams doubled to right field to put both runners in scoring position with nobody out. Hampton delivered an infield RBI single, and a sacrifice fly by Smith trimmed the Tigers' lead to 8-6. Hagerty hit Pratt to put runners at first and second, and a groundout to first base moved both runners into scoring position with the Bulldogs down to their final out.

Sikeston's No. 9 hitter, Cody Rodgers, came through with a line-drive double to center field. Hagerty induced a popout from Hay, but not before the Bulldogs tied the game at 8-all to send it into extras.

The Tigers answered in the top of the eighth when Kaleb Ward was hit by a pitch with one out. A stolen base and a groundout by Baugher moved Ward to third, and an error at third allowed Ryan Tegel to reach base and plate Ward for the game-winning run.

Kitchen credits his coaches for keeping his team's spirits high after giving up four runs in the seventh inning.

"I thought it was a great effort by our whole coaching staff of keeping the kids up, keeping everybody refocused," Kitchen said. "So many times, you come in and nosedive, and the game's over."

Morse took the mound in the bottom of the inning, during which he countered a one-out single with a flyout to center field and a strikeout to end the game. He earned the save in one inning of relief.

Hagerty pitched seven innings to pick up the win on the mound. He struck out seven, walked none and gave up 10 hits and eight runs (six earned).

"We're OK playing the tight, tough games because we've done it all year long," Kitchen said. "... We took some opportunities, and we scored."

Sidwell took the loss for Sikeston. He went 2 1/3 innings, scattered two hits, allowed two runs -- one earned -- and had two strikeouts and one walk. Clark started for the Bulldogs and gave up five hits and seven runs -- six earned -- over 4 2/3 innings of work. He had one strikeout and two walks.

After falling to Sikeston in two games this season by a combined score of 15-1, Central upended the Bulldogs in the game that mattered most.

"We're just thrilled to death to get a win over a good team like Sikeston," Kitchen said. "... We're not flash-and-dash. We just kind of grind."

Central 000 205 11 -- 9 7 5

Sikeston 003 100 40 -- 8 10 2

WP -- Chase Hagerty. LP -- Trent Sidwell. 2B -- Cody Rodgers (S), Josh Morse (C), Hagerty (C), Blake Wolferding (S), Luke Williams (S). HR -- Morse (C). Multiple hits -- Central: Morse 2-3, Hagerty 2-4; Sikeston: Wolferding 3-5, Colton Hampton 2-4, Williams 2-5.