De Soto cruises past Jackson in doubleheader

~ Jackson allowed 23 runs in its two games as it dropped to 2-4.

Jackson's American Legion team opened the week Tuesday with a pair of blowout wins over Perryville and closed the week Saturday at home by surrendering 23 runs in a pair of blowout losses to De Soto.

It was just a typical week of peaks and valleys in the early Legion season, according to Jackson manager Mark Lewis.

"We've just got to be better," Lewis said. "This is just typical of the early season, that's what it is. We started out with our bats hot in Perryville and then get shut down. We're looking forward to Monday [against Farmington] and we'll try to start over again."

Jackson dropped the opener of the doubleheader 9-2 and fell in the second game 14-2 in five innings. Post 158 managed 13 hits in the two games and scored in just two innings in each.

De Soto (3-1) starter Nathan McColloch went five innings in the opener, holding Jackson scoreless over his final four innings of work. Blake Reiminger's leadoff home run was the lone run surrendered by McColloch.

"Our pitching, I kind of feel like that's the strength of our team," De Soto manager Jeff Russell said. "I'm very happy with our pitchers."

McColloch and Jeff Jackson did not walk a batter in the opener. Jackson pitched the final two innings, allowing an unearned run in the seventh.

Sean Wiley threw the second game, allowing five hits and four walks in five innings. De Soto held Farmington to just one run in a nine-inning game Friday, and the team has won three straight following a blowout loss to Cape Girardeau in its season opener.

The offense, which had been lacking for De Soto so far this season, came through in a big way Saturday despite a slow start. Jackson starter Kyle Brugger held De Soto scoreless through three innings in the opener before succumbing to a bout of wildness.

De Soto scored two runs in the fourth inning off Brugger, and was held scoreless in just two innings the rest of the day.

"Before today it was kind of still getting out of the box hitting," Russell said. "All our kids have been sitting a few weeks so it took a couple of games to get the rust off."

Brugger allowed six straight baserunners in the fourth inning, but escaped further damage by getting a double play with the bases loaded to end the inning. De Soto scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings off Brugger to take a 4-1 lead.

De Soto picked up five more runs in the seventh after Brugger exited the game.

Alex Tripp threw four innings in the second game for Jackson, allowing 10 runs. De Soto was aided by a porous defense in the second game.

"You've got to have pitching and defense all the time because hitting comes and goes," Lewis said. "We didn't swing the bats well today. Their pitcher in the first game threw well on the outside and we didn't adjust. The second game got away from us. We started kicking the ball and didn't play well."

Jackson has now lost four straight after dropping a doubleheader at Sikeston on Friday. Ethan Devenport had a no-hitter through six innings in the opening district game Friday, but Sikeston scored two in the seventh to pull out a 2-1 win. Sikeston won the second game 9-3.

"Friday's first game kind of set the tone for the weekend and we couldn't pull it back in," Lewis said.

Sam Lincoln and Ryan Cheney had two hits apiece in the opener for Jackson. Cheney had two hits and two RBIs in the second game, and Jake D'Amico added two hits.