Big fifth inning pushes Kennett baseball team past Jackson

Jon Rooney looked every bit an ace for Kennett on Saturday afternoon, and his offense broke through and erupted in the middle innings to help him earn a 10-1 win over Jackson.

Kennett scored six runs in the fifth to turn a 1-1 ballgame into a rout at Whitey Herzog Stadium.

"We really kind of bounced back," Kennett coach Aaron New said. "It was the first game we really put together a big inning, so it was good to see some guys that have been struggling come through today."

Rooney silenced Jackson all afternoon, allowing one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings.

The lone run came in the first inning.

Jackson relief pitcher Steven Porzelt pitches Saturday to a Kennett batter. (Fred Lynch)

"Came out there, really wasn't set," Rooney said. "Curveball was working in the first three innings, got me out of some jams. Came out the rest of the innings [and] had the fastball working. It just fell into place with the best infield in Southeast Missouri."

A day after Kennett committed two errors in a 7-4 loss to Notre Dame, its defense was air tight.

"It's really good to know that if they hit it you know it's going to be out," Rooney said. "You've got probably the best infield in Southeast Missouri."

New was pleased with the defensive effort, especially given the youth Kennett features.

"We've got a lot of guys in a lot of different spots," New said. "And with a little bit of youth that happens, some guys learning how to play some different positions. Today we kind of put it all together and played a solid ballgame."

Jackson pitcher Collin Herzog threw four innings in spot start on varsity. The sophomore hurled four innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while keeping Jackson in the contest.

"We played Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday," Jackson coach Tatum Kitchen said. "We had three tough games. We burned through basically every arm we have, so we were fortunate. He's one of our top JV kids, he was rested, so we thought well we're going to just roll the dice here and throw him because we really didn't have anybody left.

"He did an exceptional job. Our goal was for him to get through four innings, he did that, we got him into the fifth and he was getting a little tired. We figured one time through their lineup and they would probably adjust. He was of course throwing probably, velocitywise, not as hard as a lot of varsity pitchers, so they were out in front of him early. We were very pleased with the job he did. But we didn't get any hits behind him and we couldn't take any pressure off of him."

Herzog had Kennett out in front through the first four innings with a slower fastball and an impressive curveball, but Kennett solved the riddle in the fifth.

No. 9 hitter DK Wallace led off the inning with a single and scored on a Daniel Lockhart triple that got over the right fielder's head to give Kennett a 2-1 lead.

Jackson shortstop Laban Petzoldt is unable to tag Kennett's J.D. Willis, who steals second base after a high throw during the fourth inning Saturday at Whitey Herzog Stadium in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

A walk, an error and a sacrifice fly later, Kennett was up 3-1 with runners on second and third.

Back-to-back singles by Tyson Campbell and Kevante Mitchell broke the game open and a two-RBI double by Chad Stanley two batters later made it 7-1.

"Their pitcher did a good job the first four innings," New said. "I thought our guys finally made a little bit of an adjustment to him. He did a good job, tip your hat, but our guys made a good adjustment there and we were able to get a few runs off of him."

Jackson managed only one hit in the final three innings off Rooney and Kennett reliever Tyson Campbell.

"Jon Rooney's done a great job for us all year," New said. "That was his second start. He pitched great his first start. Then he settled in there and we couldn't ask for any more than what he gave us today."

Jackson had a chance to crack into Kennett's lead in the bottom half of the sixth.

Three consecutive two-out walks loaded the bases, but Campbell came in and coaxed a pop-up to the shortstop.

"We've had a couple guys hit home runs, and now it looks like we're trying to drop our backside and hit the ball out of the ballpark, so we hit a lot of fly balls," Kitchen said. "[Rooney] kept us at bay. I don't know how much he's pitched all year. I wasn't sure who we would see, but he held as at bay. We really couldn't get anything going. When we did get a few runners on, he limited that and Kennett made all the defensive plays."

Lockhart led Kennett, going 3 for 5 with two triples. Mitchell added three hits, two runs, and two RBIs.

Kennett 000 162 1 -- 10 14 0

Jackson 100 000 0 -- 1 4 2

WP -- Jon Rooney. LP -- Collin Herzog. 3B -- Daniel Lockhart 2 (K). 2B -- Chad Stanley (K), Kyle James (J). Multiple Hits: Kennett -- Lockhart 3-5, Kevante Mitchell 3-4, Payton Raspbery 2-4; Jackson -- Laban Petzoldt 2-3.