Seckman ends Jackson's baseball season in district final

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- The heart of the Seckman lineup stepped up to the plate for its third look at Jackson starter Avery Whiteside in the bottom half of the fifth inning during Monday's Class 5 District 1 championship.

"Avery was a little tired, they'd seen him a couple times, and they're good," said Jackson coach Tatum Kitchen.

He put extra emphasis on the last part of that assessment.

The Nos. 4, 5 and 6 batters all singled to chase Whiteside, and the Jaguars batted around in the inning to help themselves to an 8-3 win over the Indians.

"We knew that they were a great team," Jackson senior Cody Harris said. "I think they're the best offensive team we've seen all year -- one through nine they can hit the ball. And they play defense. They're a great team."

Jackson catcher Jordan Hadden talks with relief pitcher Collin Herzog during the sixth inning.

A walk and an error aided top-seeded Seckman in the pivotal inning, during which the Jaguars scored five runs to extend what had been just a 3-2 lead.

"Offensively we left men on, and defensively we made a couple mistakes," Jackson coach Tatum Kitchen said. "Seckman's too good for that. That's just the bottom line. You know, if we were playing a pitiful team maybe we survive and move on, but you can't give their guys more at-bats. That's just the bottom line."

Jackson, the No. 2 seed, fell behind 1-0 in the first inning after two infield errors preceded an RBI singe by Brady Politte.

"We just booted a few balls," Kitchen said. "We just bobbled a few, and when you play a team as good as they are because they do hit very well, they capitalized. I thought it was kind of a game where we hit some good balls right at people; they hit some good balls in the hole."

Jackson evened the game in the top of the second when Steven Eddy's RBI groundout brought home Laban Petzoldt, who had doubled.

Jackson catcher Jordan Hadden talks with relief pitcher Collin Herzog during the sixth inning of the Class 5 District 1 championship game Monday, May 13, 2013 in Hillsboro, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

The Indians had a chance to score again an inning later when the first two runners reached base, but the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 batters all struck out to end the threat.

Politte gave his team the lead back with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.

"Avery did a great job," Kitchen said. "He has all year. He was up a little bit early, but he just kind of settled in. We don't have flame throwers, so we have to rely on working down and getting ground-ball outs.

"If you leave it up and you play in a park where it's 300 feet down the line, it's in trouble. Like the home run that was hit. The outfielder's standing at the fence just watching it hit. In our stadium that's a fly ball out, but here it's a home run."

Jackson third baseman Cody Harris trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the fourth with an RBI single with no outs but was stranded at second base.

Jackson players leave the field after losing 8-3 to Seckman in the Class 5 District 1 championship game Monday, May 13, 2013 in Hillsboro, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

"It was one of those things," Harris said about his hit. "I was trying to get a good team [at-bat] in. I knew that there was a guy in scoring position, and I was just trying to put the ball in play, hit it hard, and I found a hole."

An inning later another Jackson runner was stranded after Seckman shortstop Colby Holloway made an improbable play deep in the hole to retire Kyle James on a groundout.

Petzoldt reached on a single to start the sixth and later scored the Indians' final run on a double-play ball.

Petzoldt, the Indians' clean-up hitter who entered the game with a .405 average, reached base all three times he batted and scored all three Jackson runs. He was on deck, representing the game-tying run when a double play with the bases loaded ended the game.

"I love these guys. They're my family," Petzoldt said after the game. "We've made a lot of memories together."

Jackson’s Laban Petzoldt doubles against Seckman during the second inning of the Class 5 District 1 championship game Monday in Hillsboro, Mo. Seckman won 10-3. (Fred Lynch)

Those memories include achieving multiple feats never before completed by a Jackson baseball team.

"That it was a very, very, very good year," said Kitchen, whose team finished 20-7 in his final season. "It was a year of firsts for Jackson baseball. We won 20 games for the first time ever. We won the [SEMO] Conference and the conference tournament in the same year for the first time ever. We set a lot of statistical records.

"It was a very good year. I wanted them to understand that. When you're 18 and a half it's devastating, but as you get older you feel a lot better about it. They'll feel better in the future, but right now it stings an awful lot."

Eight members of the Indians' regular lineup were seniors.

"The seniors we had this year were so good to work with," Kitchen said. "I literally -- totally and sincerely mean this -- could have not even shown up, and I probably could have sent a text message to Ryan O'Rear and they would have had just a normal practice. It wouldn't even have mattered. They just showed up and went. They were that kind of team."

Jackson 010 101 0 -- 3 6 4

Seckman 102 050 X -- 8 12 4

WP -- Luke Boyster. LP -- Avery Whiteside. HR -- Brady Politte (S). 2B -- Laban Petzoldt (J). Multiple hits -- Jackson: Petzoldt 2-3, Cody Harris 2-3; Seckman: Boyster 3-4, Politte 3-4. Records -- Jackson: 20-7, Seckman 19-7.